The

Football League play-offs The English Football League (EFL) play-offs are a series of play-offs, play-off matches contested by four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic Promotion and relegation, promotion places in the second, third and four ...

for the 2007–08 season were held in May 2008, with the finals taking place at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

and League One tables, and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in League Two. The semi-final winners progressed to the finals, with the winner of each match earning promotion for the following season. Hull City won promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

after defeating

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

in the Championship final, 1–0 with a goal from their leading scorer Dean Windass. This marked the Tigers' first entry to the top division of English football in their existence. In the League One final, another 1–0 victory saw

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

promoted ahead of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

defeated

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

3–2 in the League Two final. This meant all three clubs who had finished immediately below the automatic promotion places in their divisions were promoted.

Background

The Football League play-offs have been held every year since

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. They take place for each of the three Football League divisions following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places. In the Championship, Hull City finished four points behind second-placed

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

, who were promoted with champions

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

- who were aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 1980 - finished in fourth place in their first season at Championship level for nine years. The other entrants, Crystal Palace and

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, had both played in the

before, with Palace's last spell in the top division ending in a final day relegation in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, a year after having won the play-offs. Watford had been relegated from the top flight in the previous season, having finished bottom, and were looking to return at the first attempt.

Championship

Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Bristol City won 4–2 on aggregate.'' ---- ''Hull City won 6–1 on aggregate.''

Final

League One

* Leeds United were docked 15 points by the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

due to the club not following Football League rules on clubs entering administration.

Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Leeds United won 3–2 on aggregate.'' ---- ''Doncaster Rovers won 5–1 on aggregate.''

Final

League Two

Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Rochdale 3–3 Darlington on aggregate. Rochdale won 5–4 on penalties.'' ---- ''Stockport County won 2–1 on aggregate.''

Final

References

External links

Football League website
{{2007–08 in English football English Football League play-offs

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

May 2008 sports events in the United Kingdom