2004–05 Football League Championship


The 2004–05 Football League Championship was the thirteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2004 and concluded in May 2005, with the promotion play-off finals. This was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two respectively. Coca-Cola replaced the Nationwide Building Society as title sponsor.
The winners of the Championship in 2005 are Sunderland. Wigan Athletic reached the Premiership as Championship runners-up and became the first club to make a debut in the top tier of English football since Barnsley's promotion after the 1996–97 season. They had been elected to the Football League only 27 years earlier, had been the league's fourth lowest club eleven years earlier and had never played in the upper half of The Football League until two years before reaching the Premier League. Nottingham Forest were relegated from the Championship to League One, becoming the first former European Cup winners to slide into the third tier of their domestic league – having won two straight European Cups a quarter of a century earlier. Just ten years ago they had finished third in the Premiership and reached the following season's UEFA Cup quarter finals.

Changes from last season

From Championship

Promoted to Premier League
Relegated to League One
Relegated from Premier League
Promoted from League One

Play-offs

Stadia

TeamStadiumCapacity
SunderlandStadium of Light49,000
Leeds UnitedElland Road37,697
West Ham UnitedBoleyn Ground35,146
Derby CountyPride Park Stadium33,597
Sheffield UnitedBramall Lane32,609
Leicester CityWalkers Stadium32,500
Nottingham ForestCity Ground30,602
Ipswich TownPortman Road30,311
Wolverhampton WanderersMolineux Stadium28,525
Stoke CityBritannia Stadium28,000
Wigan AthleticJJB Stadium25,138
Preston North EndDeepdale24,500
ReadingMadejski Stadium24,161
Coventry CityHighfield Road23,489
BurnleyTurf Moor22,546
Cardiff CityNinian Park22,008
MillwallThe New Den20,146
WatfordVicarage Road19,920
Plymouth ArgyleHome Park19,500
Queens Park RangersLoftus Road19,128
GillinghamPriestfield Stadium11,582
Crewe AlexandraAlexandra Stadium10,046
Brighton & Hove AlbionWithdean Stadium8,850
Rotherham UnitedMillmoor8,300