Forty years. Forty seasons of squeaky-boot tension, extra time agony, and penalty shootouts that have aged supporters prematurely in every corner of the country. The Football League play-offs have produced some of the most dramatic afternoons English football has ever served up, and BBC Sport is marking the milestone by testing supporters on every club to have lifted the trophy at the end of it all.

The Championship play-off final — long billed as the richest single game in club football given the Premier League riches that come with promotion — has been settled at Wembley since the stadium reopened in 2007, though older supporters will remember the trips down to the old ground at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium before that. Either way, the occasion carries a weight that very few domestic matches can match.

What makes the play-offs so compelling?

Part of the magic is the sheer breadth of clubs involved across the decades. From traditional top-flight names dropping into the second tier and clawing their way back, to smaller sides punching above their weight and nicking promotion on the last kick of a Wembley afternoon, the roll call of winners reads like a proper cross-section of English football's history.

Some clubs have done it more than once, building a reputation for performing when the pressure is at its absolute peak. Others needed only one shot and took it. The BBC Sport quiz, compiled by Ian Woodcock, lists both the number of times each club has won the final and the specific years — giving you a fighting chance if your memory of a particular decade is a little hazy.

A format that divides and delights

The play-off system has never been without its critics. Finish third and beat the side that came sixth? Earn promotion ahead of a club that accumulated more points across 46 league matches? It feels unfair to some, and there is an argument that has been reliably trotted out every May for four decades now. But the counterpoint is equally well-worn: the drama it generates is unrivalled, and the format has given clubs and supporters memories that a straightforward automatic promotion race simply cannot replicate.

Ask a Blackpool fan about 2010, a Huddersfield supporter about 2017, or anyone who witnessed a play-off final that went to penalties about the particular torture of watching a team-mate step up to the spot — and you will understand why the format endures.

Testing your knowledge

The BBC Sport quiz arrives at an apt moment. With this being the 40th season of the format, there is genuine history to unpick. Not every winner is an obvious answer. A few of the earlier finals pre-date widespread recorded highlights, and one or two clubs that have featured on the winners' list have since experienced considerably leaner times. That is part of the charm, of course — football's capacity to completely transform a club's trajectory in the space of ninety minutes, or a hundred and twenty, or five penalty kicks.

If you fancy yourself as a proper student of the Championship — the kind of supporter who knows their Boundary Park from their Loftus Road, and can tell you who was in the play-offs in a given year without resorting to a search engine — this is the quiz for you. The market of opinion on how difficult it is varies wildly depending on your age and your appetite for football history.

Either way, forty years of winners is a proper list. Some will come to you immediately. Others will sit frustratingly on the tip of your tongue. That is exactly as it should be.

Frequently asked

How many times have the Championship play-offs been held?
The Football League play-offs began in 1987, meaning the 2025–26 season marks the 40th year of the format. The Championship play-off final determines the third and final promotion spot to the Premier League each season.
Where is the Championship play-off final held?
The Championship play-off final is held at Wembley Stadium in London. Before Wembley's redevelopment, the final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff between 2001 and 2006.
Which club has won the Championship play-off final the most times?
Several clubs have won the Championship play-off final on more than one occasion. The BBC Sport quiz lists each winner alongside the number of times they have triumphed and the years they did so, making it the best reference for a full breakdown.