Dion Dublin at the launch of the new npower Championship Trophy
The Football League Championship is the highest division of the Football League, changing its name from the Football League First Division in 2004. In effect, it represents the second division of English football as there is a promotion and relegation arrangement with the top tier Premier League.
The Football League has three divisions who share the same sponsor, the Championship’s original sponsor was Coca-Cola and was replaced by npower for the start of the 2010-11 season. The npower Championship being top, is followed by npower League One and npower League Two.
Despite its second tier status in England, the standard of football in the Championship is amongst the highest in Europe and it has been reported to be the sixth richest division in Europe. Total attendances in the Championship have surpassed those of Italy’s elite Serie-A and in Europe, only the Premier League, Spanish Primera Division and German Bundesliga can boast higher attendances than the Championship.
The attraction of the Championship is the highly competitive nature of the division and the overall high quality of players plying their trade in England’s second flight. There are three promotion places to mega-rich Premier League which means competition between the Championship clubs is intense and it is often said that the division is the hardest to earn promotion.
The Championship consists of 24 teams, the top two clubs earn automatic promotion to the Premier League and the teams finishing third to sixth play off at the end of the season for the final promotion place. The winners of the two-legged semi-finals meet at Wembley to contest the Championship play off Final and the prize of promotion to the Premier League is said to be the richest prize for a single game in football worth upwards of £60million to winners.
The bottom three clubs at the end of the Championship season are relegated to League One, being replaced by three promoted clubs from that division. The format means that the majority of clubs have something meaningful to play for, right until the last kick of the season.
The broadcasting rights have changed a number of times, but from 2012-2015 Sky Sports have the rights to show 55 live games from the Championship. In addition, local radio stations with teams in the Championship usually provide live audio commentary. Championship football is watched or listened by massive weekly audiences and unsurprisingly, is a hugely popular betting medium.
FREE CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL BETS
Get free football bets for the npower Championship by registering with online bookmakers to claim the free bet offers available exclusively to new customers.
Three steps to get free Championship football bets
- Select your free bet offer(s); check the main terms and conditions for restrictions for qualifying for free bets and using free bets, then select the free bet offer(s) that best suit your needs. Best Free Bets has a list of free bet offers with all the main terms detailed. CLICK HERE SEE A LIST OF FREE BET OFFERS
- Sign up with an online bookmaker; Best Free Bets has reviewed the best online bookmakers who will all provide free bets to new customers, the bookmakers are recommended because they are trustworthy and reputable, just follow the links to bookmaker’s website and register your details.
- Deposit some funds and place a bet; in most instances deposit and bet as little as £5 to qualify for a free bet matching your first bet stake up to the maximum offered by the bookmaker.
Online bookmakers will normally credit the free bet to your account within 24-48 hours of meeting the qualifying requirements, which usually entails making a deposit and/or placing a bet.
REDEEMING CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL FREE BETS
Normally, using your Championship football free bet is simply a matter of making your selection and indicating on the bet slip that you wish to use your free bet. Some bookmakers’ methods vary slightly, however their websites contain instructions on how to redeem your free bet.
There will be restrictions placed on the use of free bets which vary between bookmakers and is advisable to make yourself familiar with those restrictions before signing up.
The six most important facts about redeeming free Championship football bets
- Free bet stakes will not be included in returns
- Minimum Odds; expect the bookmaker to insist your free football bet is placed on a selection with a minimum price, typically 1/5 (1.20) to evens (2.00)
- Bet Type restrictions; you may not be allowed to use your free football bet for some types of bets, however Singles are universally allowed and Accumulators are allowed by most bookmakers.
- Product restrictions; you won’t be able to invest free bets in Tote Pools and in many instances will be confined to using the free bets in the sportsbook rather than Casino, Poker and other gaming products.
- Rollover requirements; some online bookmakers insist customers bet their deposit and/or stake a number of times before making a withdrawal.
- Free Bet Expiry; if unused, the free bets will expire after a period of time, normally 7 to 30 days.
CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL FREE BET TIPS
If you like a regular flutter throughout the npower Championship season or on other football betting events then its worth considering having accounts with a number of online bookmakers. Free bets give you an excellent chance to increase your winnings or the opportunity to bet a winner without risking your own money. You also get the opportunity to shop around for the best odds for your selection which will also help boost your winnings compared to sticking to the same bookmaker for all your football bets.
Nowadays you can place a bet on your mobile phone and most online bookmakers have special mobile friendly versions of their websites or specially developed mobile phone and smartphone applications to make the website easy to browse and place a bet while you are out and about. It is worth mentioning because some online bookmakers will give you a free bet for trying out their mobile service, even if you already hold an account with them.
Our best Championship football free bet tips
- Open accounts with a number of online bookmakers, get free football bets and choose the best odds.
- Find bookmakers you can trust, be confident of the bona fides of the bookmaker before handing over important personal and financial information.
- Correct Score, Goalscorer, Scorecasts; get ‘insurance’ from free bet refund/cash back/money offers.
- Accumulators; get bonuses for winning accumulators or free bet refunds for near misses.
- First Scorer; get a bonus if your player scores first and goes on to score again
Best Free Bets bookmaker reviews provide details of each bookmaker’s offers and promotions. By their nature, offers and promotions can change and we advise you visit the bookmakers website and check the available promotions before placing your bet. CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR LIST OF BOOKMAKER REVIEWS.
Independent online bookmaker Betfred gives a bigger variety of offers and bonuses on football than any other online bookmaker, CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LATEST FOOTBALL OFFERS AND PROMOTIONS FROM BETFRED.