Championship Promotions To Premier League By Year

Ah, the ‘promised land’, so attractive, yet so fickle. A target for any ambitious lower league club is to get into the Premier League and then build from there. Only a small number of clubs have done it over the years and really consolidated themselves as an English top-flight side.

Arguably, you could say this about Brighton which became one of the most well-run clubs in England under the stewardship of Tony Bloom, who was able to implement an infrastructure that many only dream of – especially from a recruitment perspective.

There are some interesting patterns regarding clubs that have been promoted to the Premier League over the years. Some have gone straight back down and then again, others got that all-too familiar ‘yo-yo’ club label, while others have established themselves and never looked back.

Championship Promotions By Year

1994–95 exception: Only one automatic promotion place was available; the second promotion place was awarded via the play-offs due to the Premier League’s reduction to 20 teams for 1995–96.

# = promoted back to the Premier League the season after relegation (immediate return).

Since the inauguration of the Premier League, there have been numerous clubs who have been promoted – even some for the first time. Hull City were the first club to achieve back-to-back-to-back promotions, eventually getting to the top-flight in 2007/08, winning the play-off final.
Meanwhile, the city of Stoke was put on the map, following Stoke City’s promotion in 2007/08 where the club earned a reputation for being one of the most unique. Under Tony Pulis, The Potters became hard to beat, with a secret weapon by way of a ‘Rory Delap’ long throw into the box. The saying “doing it on a cold Tuesday night at Stoke” became coined.

Huddersfield Town was another newcomer to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history in 2016/17 – coming up via the play-offs and this did wonders for the local area, however, despite playing attractive football, they didn’t last long.

Teams Promoted To The Premier League More Than Once (1992-93 to 2024–25)

There are many clubs that have been promoted to the Premier League more than once. Indeed, there are five clubs which have achieved this on five occasions. West Bromwich Albion are a club that got a reputation for doing this at one point as well as Norwich City, while Burnley, Watford and Leicester City (the latter, perhaps surprisingly) have also done this.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace is the only club to have been promoted to the Premier League on four occasions.
So-called ‘big clubs’ Nottingham Forest and Leeds United have been promoted to the Premier League twice, while even powerhouses, Manchester City have earned promotion on two occasions.

The latter 2001/02, saw the club gradually consolidate themselves before eventually being taken over by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who, in the years that followed pumped hundreds of millions of pounds into the club, establishing it as serial Champions League contenders and, very firmly a top four Premier League club.

Championship Promotion Trivia

There are some interesting facts about clubs that have achieved Championship promotion over the years. Perhaps, most notably, the longest gap between promotions is a record held by Nottingham Forest, who had to wait 23 years between 1997/98 and 2021/22 to get back into the ‘big time’.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace hold the record for the club that has won the Championship Play-off (a game that earned itself the title of the ‘£100 million match’ over the years), winning this on four occasions.

• Most Promotions: West Bromwich Albion, Leicester City, Norwich City, Watford, and Burnley have each been promoted 5 times in this period.
• Immediate Returns (Yo-Yo Clubs): Several clubs have bounced straight back to the Premier League the season after relegation, including Newcastle United (2009–10, 2016–17), West Bromwich Albion (2003–04, 2009–10), Burnley (2015–16, 2022–23, 2024–25), Norwich City (2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2020–21), Fulham (2021–22), Watford (2020–21), and Leicester City (2023–24).
• First-Time Promotions: Some clubs reached the Premier League for the first time in their history during this era, including Barnsley (1996–97), Blackpool (2009–10), Hull City (2007–08), Swansea City (2010–11), Bournemouth (2014–15), Huddersfield Town (2016–17), Brighton & Hove Albion (2016–17), Brentford (2020–21), and Luton Town (2022–23).
• Longest Gap Between Promotions: Nottingham Forest had to wait 23 years between their 1997–98 promotion and their 2021–22 play-off success.
• Quickest Double Promotion: Manchester City won back-to-back promotions in 1998–99 (from third tier) and 1999–2000 (from second tier) to reach the Premier League.
• Play-off Kings: Crystal Palace have won the play-offs four times (1988–89, 1996–97, 2003–04, 2012–13), more than any other side since 1992–93.
• Consistent Contenders: West Ham United, Bolton Wanderers, and Leicester City have all secured multiple promotions through the play-offs as well as automatic places.
• Smallest Club to Reach the Premier League: Luton Town (2022–23) became the first club to rise from non-league (as recently as 2013–14) to the Premier League in just nine years.
• Back-to-Back Promotions: Southampton climbed from League One in 2010–11 straight through the Championship in 2011–12, returning to the Premier League after a seven-year absence.