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Football League Championship play-offs
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The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was being rebuilt.
There is no sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, who end up approximately £60,000,000 better off than the losers, mainly due to the increased commercial television revenue from being promoted to the Premier League.
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Encyclopedia
The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was being rebuilt.
There is no sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, who end up approximately £60,000,000 better off than the losers, mainly due to the increased commercial television revenue from being promoted to the Premier League. However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.
The most recent final was played on 24 May 2008, with Hull City beating Bristol City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.
Ipswich Town have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times, 1987 1997-2000 inclusive 2004 2005, making the final only once in 2000 when they won promotion.
Format
Aside from the branding changes which affected English football in 1992 and 2004, the Championship play-offs have also changed in format.
When they were introduced for the 1986-87 season, the play-offs originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987-88, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.
Since 1989-90, the final has been a single game (contested between the winners of the semi-finals, which remain two-legged) has been held either at Wembley or the Millennium Stadium, apart from 1987, when Charlton Athletic and Leeds United could not be separated over two legs and took the tie to a third match at St. Andrews, Birmingham.
Results
1987
Semi-finals
|}* Leeds win on away goals
Final
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Replay
1988
Semi-finals
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Final
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1989
Semi-finals
|}*Blackburn win on away goals.
- Final
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1990
Semi-finals
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Final
Following successful prosecutions against Swindon Town and the club chairman, Brian Hillier, after they admitted 36 breaches of League rules - 35 of which are related to illegal payments, Swindon remained in the Second Division and Sunderland took their promotion place (see History of Swindon Town F.C.)
1991
Semi-finals
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Final
1992
Semi-finals
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Final
1993
Semi-finals
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Final
1994
Semi-finals
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Final
1995
The play-offs in 1995 featured the teams finishing in positions 2-5; during this season the Premiership was reduced from 22 to 20 clubs, with four relegated to Division 1 and only two promoted, the champions (Middlesbrough) automatically and one other through the play-offs.
Semi-finals
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Final
1996
Semi-finals
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Final
1997
Semi-finals
|}*Sheffield United win on away goals
Final
1998
Semi-finals
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Final
1999
Semi-finals
|}* Bolton win on away goals
Final
2000
Semi-finals
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Final
2001
Semi-finals
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Final
2002
Semi-finals
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Final
2003
Semi-finals
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Final
2004
Semi-finals
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Final
2005
Semi-finals
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2006
Semi-finals
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Final
2007
Semi-finals
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Final
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