The Gap Between the Premier League and Championship
By
Will Brown
Contributor Updated: 12 March 2025
Will Brown Contributor
William Brown is a Content Writer with strong expertise in US and global gambling industry trends. Having covered the local sports betting market since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, William approaches his gambling guides with passion and diligence. He is a keen player of online slots, blackjack, and a regular sports bettor.
Premier League vs Championship League
For newcomers to English soccer, the gap between the Premier League vs Championship League may be a complete mystery. While both represent the best of the UK’s domestic soccer leagues, there is quite a large difference between the level of play, funding, popularity, and prestige of both tiers. In this guide, we’ve provided a thorough explanation of what sets the two apart, how they’re related, and how each interacts with the other to create some of the world’s best athletes.
Intro to the EFL Championship vs Premier League
To best understand the difference between Premier League and Championship League soccer, you need to understand the unique relegation and promotion system both are a part of. Therefore, we’ve begun this guide by explaining how this system works and its importance.
From there, we’ve provided detailed overviews of how the EFL Championship league operates, the Premier League’s format, and the tensions between the two. To conclude, we’ve shared some interesting facts and figures comparisons between the leagues as well as the surging popularity of English soccer in the US.
- The League System Explained
- About the Championship League
- About the Premier League
- Tensions Between the Leagues
- Facts and Figures Comparisons
- The Growing Popularity of Soccer
League System: The Difference Between Premier League and Championship
The dynamic between the Premier League vs Championship League relates to the hierarchical structure of the English football league system. Essentially, this is a tiered system that is topped by the Premier League, the most prestigious and competitive of all English leagues. Below this is the English Football League (EFL). There are many intricacies within each tier with each having promotion and relegation as a main feature. Understanding how the English Pyramid system works will be helpful to understand the topic at hand.
The EFL comprises three divisions, with the top being the Championship. This makes it the second-best league in English soccer. This is followed by League One and League Two. Below these, is the National League, which consists of six league tiers. All of these leagues follow a promotion and relegation system.
This means that every year, the lowest three performing teams of the Premier League are relegated to the Championship League, while the top three teams in the Championship League are promoted to the Premier League. This promotion and relegation system covers the best and worst performers of all leagues, down to England’s regional division teams.
The benefit of this is that theoretically, lower league teams can gradually be promoted each season to new heights. This is perhaps best displayed in the Disney+ series “Welcome to Wrexham”, which has tracked the steady rise of Wrexham A.F.C. from its fifth-tier status to a place in the third-tier League One.
That said, each league is distinct in the level of competition, with the Premier League drawing huge amounts of money from sponsorship and broadcasting deals. However, the difference between Premier League and Championship play isn’t always immense thanks to the regular inclusion of former Premier League teams.
About The Championship League
Formerly the Football League First Division, the English Football League (EFL) Championship was established in 2004 and serves as the second tier of English soccer. The league consists of 24 clubs, with the top two teams automatically promoted to the Premier League each season. The finishing third to sixth teams then compete for the final promotion place.
The bottom three teams are then relegated to EFL League One. Most recently, Leicester City was promoted after winning their second Championship title in the 2023-2024 season. In fact, the team is one of the most successful in the league’s history. Ipswich Town and Southampton were promoted alongside it.
Despite its second-tier status, the Championship League produces some of the most competitive second-division sporting of any major global sporting code. The high-stakes reward of being promoted to the Premier League makes gameplay especially fierce and unpredictable, and it attracts large viewership in the UK and abroad.
One of the most notable events in the annual calendar is the playoff final at Wembley Stadium to secure the final promotion spot in the Premier League. Called the “richest games in football”, the make-or-break event attracts plenty of activity at online EFL Championship betting sites. This is where the difference between Premier League and Championship level of play becomes blurred.
About The Premier League
The Premier League, which is the top tier of English soccer, was established in 1992 after evolving from the Football League First Division. Only 20 clubs compete in the league, with seasons running between August and May. Each team plays 38 matches home and away against every other team.
The Premier League is the most popular soccer league in the world, and in turn, the most popular sports league in the world. Since the 2000s, the league has been defined by the intense rivalry between the so-called “Big Six”, which includes Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham Spur.
Because of the league’s financially lucrative position, many clubs have the funds to attract some of the world’s best soccer players. Therefore, the league consists of many international players in addition to their homegrown talent, with current top players including Erling Haaland, Rodri, and Mohamed Salah. There are many ways that money influences the Premier League which can explain how tensions can arise.
Like all other leagues, the lowest-performing teams are relegated at the end of each season. In 2024, these teams included Luton Town, Burnley, and Sheffield United. This flow between the Premier League vs Championship League teams ensures a competitive balance in coming years, which makes for particularly exciting wagering at EPL betting sites.
Tensions Between the Leagues
Despite the close relationship between the leagues, an EFL Championship vs Premier League battle has been brewing over funding. In 2024, the EFL had been trying to negotiate a deal that would see the Premier League distribute over $1 billion to lower-tier teams to help them remain financially stable amidst growing challenges.
However, after the required majority of Premier League clubs failed to back the measure, it failed. The Premier League was criticized, with many pundits and government officials saying the Premier League has a responsibility to maintain the financial health of all English football tiers. Currently, the Premier League offers roughly $435 million annually to the EFL.
There have been challenges in recent years for teams promoted from the Championship League to remain in the Premier League due to their meager resources compared to bigger clubs. Without funding, the question of, “Which is better: Championship or Premier League play?” may continue to favor the latter more as the years progress, which could jeopardize the beauty of the current pyramid system.
Facts and Figures Comparisons
When it comes to the Premier League vs Championship money earned by players and clubs, there is an immense divide. The average salary for Championship players is around $37,000 per week. Conversely, many Premier League players earn salaries of over $200,000 per week.
The Premier League reports revenues of over $7 billion per year, while the EFL Championship League earned revenues of around $800 million. Considering that this was close to the revenues of the Manchester City Premier League team in 2024, it’s clear how large the money divide is between the two.
That said, there are vast differences between viewership figures for both which are reflected in its TV broadcasting deals. The Premier League’s domestic and global rights deals are valued at roughly $12 billion over three years, while all three divisions of the EFL have earned less than $1 billion for five years.
The Growing Popularity of Soccer in the US
When it comes to the Premier League vs Championship League popularity in the US, there is no competition. A recent survey reported that the Premier League’s fanbase in the USA has grown by 88% between 2021 and 2024. Much of this has been buoyed by an uptick in online views, with NBC reporting around 550,000 US online viewers per match.
The figures are indicative of the exploding popularity of soccer in the USA, with the local Major League Soccer (MLS) seeing a surge in audience figures, social media engagement, and viewership. Additionally, MLS Venues have reached 94 percent capacity in the most recent season, and broadcasting deals with Apple TV have seen the sport reach a global audience.
The addition of new MLS teams in 2025 is also set to expand the appeal of local soccer, which in turn will likely result in growing interest in international leagues such as the EFL Championship and Premier League. And with the FIFA World Cup coming to the USA in 2026, locals will soon have a chance to watch the top global talent compete live.
