How many teams qualify from EFL to Premier League? Each season, the two top-finishing teams in the Championship are automatically promoted to the Premier League. The teams that finish the season in 3rd to 6th place enter a playoff tournament, with the winner also gaining promotion to the Premier League. Promotion to the Premier League is a lucrative achievement for teams in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The top two finishers in the Championship table earn automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the next four sides in the table duke it out for the final spot in a playoff knockout bracket. Last season’s relegated sides from the Premier League were Burnley, Watford, and Norwich City, and all fared very differently in the quest for a quick return back to the top flight. Burnley clinched promotion back to the Premier League by winning the Championship, while Norwich and Watford both fell short of the playoff places. The Clarets will be joined back in the Premier League by Sheffield United after the Blades finished in second place, and the third team to move up is Luton Town after they won won the EFL Championship playoff promotion final on penalties. The Sporting News brings you a full and updated look at the playoff picture as it stands with the season nearing a conclusion. EFL stands for English Football League and was the first football league pyramid of its kind, acting as a template for nations worldwide to adopt and evolve into the major leagues they are today. Who founded the EFL? William McGregor is considered by most to be the father of modern-day football and the founder of the English Football League. He pioneered what is considered to be the original football league competition. In 1888 he pushed for 12 of the most prominent clubs in the country to come together in a league and arrange both home and away fixtures on a season-by-season basis. How many English leagues are there? There are a total of 57 different leagues in England, featuring 84 different English Football League divisions that provide a feeder to the pyramid. What are the different football leagues? Football leagues in England are broken down into different tiers of football; professional, semi-professional and amateur leagues, the top of which is the Premier League. After that, the Championship, League One and League Two are the remaining professional leagues. After League Two, there is the National League, which is the first of the semi-pro leagues. There are two steps in the National League: The National League and the second step, the National League North/South, which cover the two halves of the country. Next is step seven, which is made up of leagues covering the four regional corners of the country The Northern Premier League Southern League Central Division Southern League South Division Isthmian League Premier Division After step seven, there are semi-pro and countless amateur leagues that span the entire country.