British Championship

The British Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Nationwide Championship for sponsorship reasons) is ranked below the British Premier League but above Football League Division One. The league is contested by 24 clubs. Each season, the 2 top-finishing teams in the Championship are automatically promoted to the Premier League. The teams that finish the season in 3rd to 8th place enter a playoff tournament, with the winner also gaining promotion to the Premier League. The 3 lowest-finishing teams in the Championship are relegated to Football League Division One.

The Championship, which was introduced for the 2004–05 season, was previously known as the Football League First Division (1992–2004), and before that as the Football League Second Division (1892–1992). The winners of the Championship receive the Nationwide Championship trophy, the same trophy as the old First Division champions were handed prior to the Premier League's inception in 1992. The Ball

The Championship is the wealthiest non-top flight football division in the world and the ninth richest division in Europe. With an average match attendance for the 2018–19 season of 20,181, the Championship had the highest per-match attendance of any secondary league in the world, with only 9 top-flight leagues known to have higher attendance figures.

Barnsley have spent more seasons at the second level of English football than any other team and on 3 January 2011 became the first club to achieve 1,000 wins in the 2nd level of English football with a 2–1 home victory over Coventry City. Barnsley are also the first club to play 3,000 games in second-level league football (W1028, D747, L1224). Currently, Nottingham Forest and Derby County hold the longest tenure in the Championship, last being out of the division in the 2007–08 season.

## **Structure of the league**

The league comprises 24 teams, which runs annually from the 2nd weekend of August until the 2nd to last weekend of April, . 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. The teams are ranked in the league table by (1) points gained, (2) goal difference, (3) goals scored, (4) head-to-head points, (5) head to head goal difference (6) head-to-head goals scored (7) away goals scored (8) head-to-head away goals scored. In the event that 2 or more teams finish the season equal in all these respects, teams are separated by alphabetical order, unless a promotion, relegation or play-off place is at stake, when the teams are separated by a play-off game at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, though this improbable situation has never arisen in all the years the rule has existed. At the end of the season, the top 2 teams and the winner of the Championship play-offs are promoted to the Premier League and the bottom 3 teams are relegated to Football League Division One.

### **Playoffs**

Football League Championship play-offs is a knock-out competition for the teams finishing the season in 3rd to 8th place with the winner being promoted to the Premier League. In the quarter-finals, the 5th placed team vs. the 8th placed team and the 6th placed team vs. 7th placed team. The 3rd and 4th placed team enter the semis. In the quarters and semis are at the home ground of the team that finished higher in the final league table, if there’s no winner after 70 minutes then it goes into extra time, if still there’s no winner after extra time the higher placed team (home team) goes through. The Championship (and Football League Division 1) play-off final is held at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales with the winner promoted, extra time is played and unlike the other rounds ADG will be played.

Championship play-off trophy, Championship playoff logo. Championship play-off final programme

## **Teams**

#### **Changes from real life**

* 1-Celtic Park will turn Janefield Street site into a car park for disabled supporters. The hotel and museum will be based on London Road, outside the main stand of Celtic Park and across the road from Emirates Arena.
* 2-General maintenance, repairs and painting all over the stadium including all stairways, concourses, replacing seat numbers etc. Also:

1. New & improved toilet facilities, and new & improved concession stand
2. Replacing/covering the perspex wind shields on the Broomloan and Copland.
3. Deep cleaning and repair of the roofline structures, including the club deck beams and removing the family stand sign.
4. Replacing the stadium screens with safe standing area. Stadium screens moved to top of stand
5. Improvements to surrounding area, including redevelopment of Edmiston house site, ideally a complete new build that functions as a museum/fan bar/restaurant/conference centre. The community pitch in front relocated and an Ibrox walkway built down towards the main stand entrance.
6. Renaming The Copland Road Stand to The Walter Smith Stand
7. Building a 4 star hotel on the vacant land where the high rises used to be. Ideal for fans coming from abroad and a great selling point for tourists and business meetings, with the transport links between the airport and city centre being so good.
8. Ibrox railway station reopened combined with Glasgow Airport Rail Link. This would link perfectly into the hotel plans above as the station would be right next to it.

* Loftus Road converted into a housing estate
* IRL New Den is now a housing estate.
* The Oracle Shopping Centre is placed where IRL Madejski Stadium is. Grosvenor Casino is replaced with The Real Greek restaurant. Royal Elm Park plans will be completed
* City Ground

## **Theme song**

1. Aberdeen: The European Song and “Stand Free”
2. Barnsley: "Timerider" by Cocoon
3. Brighton & Hove Albion: "Sussex by the Sea“
4. Blackburn Rovers: "The Wild Rover" by Morning Call
5. Brentford: "Come On You Brentford (feat. According To You) [Red and White Army Mix]" by Beesotted Bees
6. Bristol City: "Blackbird" by The Wurzels and "One For The Bristol City" by The Wurzels (win)
7. Cardiff City: "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley
8. Celtic: The Celtic Song
9. Derby County: "Steve Bloomer's Watching" by Robert Lindsay and the Pride Park Posse
10. Fulham Park Rangers: “Fulham FC Hymn”
11. Huddersfield Town: "Smile Awhile"
12. Hull City: "Don't You Love Me No More?" by Henry Priestman
13. Middlesbrough: "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag)" by Perfecto Allstarz (entrance) and "The Riverside Anthem" By Les Scott (win)
14. Millwall
15. Norwich City: "On The Ball City"
16. Nottingham Forest: "Mull of Kintyre" by Celtic Thunder
17. Preston North End: "Margie" by Original Dixieland Jazz Band
18. Rangers
19. Reading: "They Call Us the Royals"
20. Sheffield Wednesday: "Hi Ho Sheffield Wednesday"
21. Stoke City: "Delilah" by Tom Jones
22. West Brom: "West Bromwich Albion" by Ray King
23. Wigan