EFL Championship

Football is played with eleven players per side on a pitch between 100 and 110 metres long. Matches consist of two 45-minute halves with stoppage time added by the referee. The Championship season runs from August to May, comprising 46 matches per team — each club plays every other club twice, home and away. The top two clubs at the end of the season earn automatic promotion to the Premier League. Clubs finishing third through sixth enter the play-offs, a knockout tournament culminating in a final at Wembley, with the winner earning the third promotion place. The bottom three clubs are relegated to EFL League One. Each team may make five substitutions across three windows plus half-time. Yellow and red card rules follow standard FA and EFL regulations, with suspensions for accumulated bookings. VAR is not used in the Championship; refereeing decisions are final on the pitch. The EFL enforces Profitability and Sustainability regulations, limiting clubs to losses of £39 million over a rolling three-year period to prevent reckless overspending in pursuit of promotion.