The teams that finish the season in third to sixth place enter a playoff tournament, with the winner also gaining promotion to the Premier League.

[4] Cardiff City have spent more seasons in this division than any other team, and Bristol City, Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers currently hold the longest tenure in this division, having last been absent in the 2014–15 season.

Barnsley became the first club to attain 1,000 wins in second-tier English league football with a 2–1 home victory over Coventry City on 3 January 2011.

Sunderland won the league in the first season since rebranding, with Wigan Athletic finishing second to win promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in their history.

West Ham United won the first Championship play-off final that season, following a 1–0 victory over Preston North End at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

On 4 May 2007, Leeds United became the first side since the re-branding of the division to enter administration; they were deducted 10 points and were relegated as a result.

[10][11] On 28 May 2007, Derby County won the first Championship play-off final at the new Wembley Stadium, beating West Bromwich Albion 1–0.

Birmingham City eventually finished fourth in the Championship that season, and would lose to fifth-place Blackpool in the play-off.

[17] On 18 July 2013, UK bookmaker Sky Bet announced that they had signed a five-year agreement to sponsor the league.

[20] Newcastle won the title in 2016–17, while Aston Villa finished 13th, eventually returning to the Premier League in 2019.

Leeds United were confirmed as champions on 17 July 2020, being promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years.

[24] The EFL Championship took a unique four-week break in November and December 2022 to allow for players to join their national teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.

The winners of each semi-final then compete in a single match at Wembley Stadium with the prize being promotion to the Premier League and the Championship play-off trophy.