EFL Championship: English Football's Second Tier, Table, Fixtures and African Kick-Off Times

The EFL Championship is the second tier of English football, a league of 24 clubs from England and Wales that sits directly below the Premier League. Each season the top two go up automatically, the clubs in 3rd to 6th enter the play offs, with the final at Wembley for the last promotion place, and the bottom three drop to League One. The division began in 1892 as the Football League Second Division and has carried its present name since 2016. For readers in South Africa who call the game soccer, this is the league that decides which three clubs join the Premier League every summer.

Below, you will find how to read the live table, fixtures and results that sit above this guide, the kick-off times in WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT, where the African players fit in, and the records that have stood for years. In my opinion, the Championship is the fairest test in English football, because it runs for 46 matches and a lucky month rarely carries a club all the way. Think of it as the drive from Lagos to Ibadan on a Friday evening, where the drivers who keep their patience in the last stretch are the ones who arrive first.

How Do You Read the Championship Table, Fixtures and Results?

Start with the Efl Championship table to see how league results determine the standings. Clubs earn three points for a win and one for a draw, and the table (the log, as many South African readers call it) ranks them by points, then by goal difference when two sides are level. The lines that matter never move: the top two places mean automatic promotion, 3rd to 6th means the play-offs, and the bottom three means League One. So, when you check the standings, read the gap to each line rather than the position alone, since a club a few points short with games in hand may be closer than it looks.

The Efl Championship fixtures list every coming match with its date and the kick-off already converted to your own zone, and the Efl Championship results record the full time score, the half time score and the scorers once the final whistle goes. In Kenya and Uganda most readers follow the Championship live score on a phone, so both modules are built to load quickly on mobile data. It could be argued that the fixture list matters more than the results late in the season, because the run of remaining opponents decides as much as the points already won.

A practical habit helps here. Look at a club's next five fixtures, then check where each of those opponents sits in the table, and you will have a clearer picture of its chances than any single result can give you. A run against clubs in the middle of the table, with little left to play for, reads very differently from a run against sides chasing the play-offs. And, if a club near the bottom has several home matches left, give that real weight, because home points in the final month can change a season quickly.

Who Scores the Goals in the Championship, and Where Are the Africans?

The scoring charts live in the Efl Championship stats module, which updates after every match with goals, assists and clean sheets. Each Championship club plays 46 league matches, so it helps to read goals per match rather than the raw total. A forward who scores in every other game across a full Championship season is a forward whom Premier League clubs will be watching closely, and that is often how a move up begins.

The African players in the league are tagged in the same module, by nationality and by the national team they represent, so you can filter for Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans, South Africans and Ugandans. Use those filters to follow appearances and contributions as squads change through transfers and loans. Historical connections include Nigeria's Yakubu at Leicester City in 2011 and Ghana's Albert Adomah in Middlesbrough's 2016 promotion side.

The question I always ask about any of them is what a strong Championship season means for their country. For a Super Eagles forward, regular minutes and goals in England keep him in the coach's thoughts before an Africa Cup of Nations, and the same holds for a Black Stars midfielder or a Bafana Bafana defender. In my opinion, a starting place in the Championship often does more for an international career than a seat on a Premier League bench, because national team coaches tend to pick the players who are playing every week.

What Time Do Championship Matches Kick Off in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and South Africa?

For a Championship fixture scheduled at 15:00 in Britain, the winter conversion is 15:00 GMT, 16:00 WAT, 17:00 SAST and 18:00 EAT. During British Summer Time, that same UK slot becomes 14:00 GMT, 15:00 WAT, 16:00 SAST and 17:00 EAT. Britain advances its clocks on March's final Sunday and restores them on October's final Sunday; Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda keep their local clocks unchanged.

For the traditional Saturday Championship slot, Accra therefore reads 15:00 under GMT or 14:00 under British Summer Time. The corresponding pairs are 16:00 and 15:00 in Lagos, 17:00 and 16:00 in Johannesburg, and 18:00 and 17:00 in both Nairobi and Kampala. An evening fixture in England finishes later by the clock in East Africa, so check the converted start before arranging a viewing.

The fixtures module supplies the local start for each Championship match. Use the reference below when comparing a UK announcement with your own clock: select the British clock setting first, then follow the row to your country's column. This also helps when a televised fixture moves away from its original Saturday slot.

How Can You Watch the EFL Championship in Africa?

Consult the viewing module for Championship coverage in your country, as the broadcaster carrying a fixture depends on territorial rights for that campaign. South Africa's Championship connections include Kagisho Dikgacoi, who helped Crystal Palace win promotion through the play-offs in 2013. In Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, the viewing centre remains a big part of how English football is watched, alongside live score apps on mobile data and radio commentary on the move.

Coverage of the Championship is usually lighter than Premier League coverage, so not every match will reach a screen near you. When a game is not shown, the live score and short highlight clips fill the gap, and the results module will carry the scorers within minutes of full time. If one club matters to you, check the viewing module early in the week, since televised matches are often moved away from Saturday afternoon to Friday evenings, Sunday lunchtimes or midweek slots, and the converted times will show you exactly when to tune in.

How Does the EFL Championship Work?

The Championship is a straight league of 24 clubs in which every club plays every other twice, once at home and once away, for 46 matches each. Three points for a win and one for a draw build the table, and nothing is settled by groups or knockout rounds until the play-offs begin after the final round. Within the English league system, this is England's second tier, run by the EFL, and promotion leads to the Premier League.

If you follow the NPFL, the Kenyan Premier League, the PSL, the Ghana Premier League or the Uganda Premier League, the idea of promotion and relegation will feel familiar, since clubs move between divisions on results in all of them. The difference is the size of the prize. Promotion from the Championship takes a club into the Premier League, the league that much of Africa watches every weekend, so a second tier club from a quiet English town can gain a following in Lagos, Nairobi or Johannesburg the moment it goes up.

How Do Promotion, the Play-Offs and Relegation Work?

The two clubs who finish first and second are promoted to the Premier League automatically, with no further matches to play. The clubs who finish 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th enter the play-offs, a knockout for the third and final promotion place, with semi finals over two legs and the winners meeting in the final at Wembley. The play-offs reward a strong finish, which means a club that creeps into 6th on the final day can still go up ahead of the club that finished 3rd, and that is part of their pull.

At the other end, the three lowest placed clubs are relegated to League One, and their places are taken by three clubs promoted from that division. For a struggling side, what changes a season is usually the defence: goals conceded across 46 matches add up quickly, and a club that tightens up at home can climb several places in a month. The table module marks the relegation line, so watch the gap between your club and 21st place, the last safe position, rather than the gap to the club directly above.

The final that set the modern tone came in 2007, the first Championship play-off final at the new Wembley Stadium, when Derby County beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0. One goal decided a whole season of work, which is the play-offs in a sentence. South Africa's Kagisho Dikgacoi featured in Crystal Palace's 2013 final victory over Watford, an example of how promotion can change a club's direction, including the careers of the players involved.

Who Has Won the Championship, and Which Records Still Stand?

The records module identifies each season's champions, runners up and play-off winners, showing how the three promotion places were secured. For this season, use the table to follow the automatic promotion places and the play-off positions. Completed campaigns remain in the roll of honour for historical comparison.

Use the records module to compare title totals across the division's history as the Second Division, the Football League Championship and the EFL Championship. The points records in the module offer historical benchmarks for a 46 match campaign, illustrating the consistency required from August to May through winter pitches and midweek travel.

The biggest crowd for any Championship fixture came at the 2014 play-off final, when 87,348 people filled Wembley. Week to week, the average Championship attendance in 2022-23 was 18,787, a figure that shows how deeply these clubs are rooted in their towns and cities. So, when a club from this league goes up, it rarely arrives in the Premier League as a stranger to big occasions, and its supporters have usually waited a long time for the step.

Which African Players Have Used the Championship, Country by Country?

Nigeria's Yakubu joined Leicester City on loan from Everton in January 2011, bringing his experience with the Super Eagles to the Championship. His spell gives Nigerian readers a specific connection to Leicester's second tier history. The Nigeria filter in the stats module shows who is playing this season and how often, which is the first thing worth checking before any international window.

Ghana's Albert Adomah joined Middlesbrough from Bristol City in 2013 and helped Middlesbrough win promotion to the Premier League in 2016. The Black Stars winger's route links two Championship clubs with Ghana's international football history. His career offers a concrete example of a player progressing from the division to the top flight.

Kenya international Clarke Oduor joined Barnsley in 2019 and scored against Brentford in July 2020 as Barnsley secured Championship survival. Uganda international Uche Ikpeazu joined Wycombe Wanderers in 2020 for their Championship campaign and moved to Middlesbrough in 2021. Those careers give readers in Nairobi and Kampala direct player connections to the division, beyond following clubs with Premier League histories.

South Africa's Kagisho Dikgacoi joined Crystal Palace permanently in 2011 after a loan spell and played in their 2013 Championship play-off final victory over Watford. His promotion with Palace connects Bafana Bafana history with one of the division's defining occasions. The South Africa filter in the stats module lists who is in the league this season.

When Does the Championship Season Start and End?

The Championship season usually starts in early August, the regular season ends in early May, and the play-offs follow through the rest of May, with the Wembley final closing the campaign. The exact dates change each year and are in the fixtures module. Across those months, every club plays 46 league matches, with midweek rounds in the busiest periods, including the holiday weeks around Christmas and New Year, when squads with depth tend to pull away from squads without it.

That calendar matters to African readers for one reason in particular. When the Africa Cup of Nations is played in the middle of the English season, Championship clubs can lose their African internationals for several weeks, which is one more reason to read a club's results alongside its squad list. And, when the tournament is played in the European summer, the same players return to their clubs with a tournament behind them, which can shape how quickly they settle into the new season.

Which Clubs Play in the Championship, and Where?

The 24 clubs come from England and Wales, and the club list in the table module shows who is in the division this season, with each club's city and ground. Membership changes every summer: three clubs come down from the Premier League and three come up from League One, while three leave for the Premier League and three drop to League One. Welsh clubs add their own flavour when they are in the division, and away days across the border become part of the season's character.

The club module identifies the teams competing this season, including those arriving through promotion from League One or relegation from the Premier League. Use it to follow clubs connected with African internationals and to check their grounds. In my opinion, the relegated clubs are the ones African fans watch most closely, because many supporters here followed them in the Premier League first and keep faith with them on the way back up.

How Did the EFL Championship Begin?

The Championship began in 1892 as the Football League Second Division, the level beneath the original top flight of English league football. Under that name it became the place where famous clubs rebuilt after relegation and where smaller clubs announced themselves, and much of that character survives today. The division took the name Football League Championship in 2004 and was renamed the EFL Championship in 2016, which is the name readers search for in all five countries.

The 2004 change was more than a new badge, in my opinion, because calling the second tier a Championship gave it a title worth winning in its own right, with a trophy that clubs celebrate rather than simply pass through. The 2016 rename tied it more closely to the English Football League brand used across the EFL's divisions. Neither change touched the heart of the competition, which is still a long league season followed by the most dramatic promotion route in English football.

Its importance to African readers has grown with the reach of the Premier League. Every club in the Championship is one promotion away from the league that fills viewing centres from Lagos to Kampala, and the money that comes with going up can change a club for a decade. So, which club will it be next? You can see how each match is called in the Efl Championship predictions, where every call comes with a probability and a reference price, never a promise.