Manage an EFL Championship club — free in your browser

Every EFL Championship club you can take over

Strength here is the mean rating of each club's best eleven, which is the quickest way to see who you would be joining and who you would be chasing.

EFL Championship 2026/27: who to manage

• To win straight away: West Ham United, the strongest best eleven in the division (76.9).
• The deepest squad: Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose players 12 to 18 average 73.4, so injuries and rotation hurt least.
• The long project: Watford, with the youngest top 18 (average age 25.1).
• A mid-table rebuild: Watford, right in the middle on paper.
• The survival job: Bolton Wanderers, the weakest squad (68.1). Staying up is a good season.

The best players in EFL Championship

The division's best. Signing one of these is usually a whole summer's budget; developing your own is the cheaper route. Ratings follow EA Sports FC 27. BALLKNW is unofficial and not affiliated with EA Sports.

EFL Championship wonderkids worth signing early

Players aged 21 or under with the most room left to grow. Sign them before their value catches up with their potential and you fund a decade of the rebuild.

Where EFL Championship players come from

40% of players here are from England, with the rest drawn from 85 other nations — a home core with a real import market on top.

What EFL Championship is like to manage in

Squads here average 25.7 years old — settled enough to compete now, young enough that you are not forced into an immediate rebuild. There are 8.8 rating points between the strongest and weakest first elevens — the favourites are real, but the title is not settled in August. Look for the 98 under-21s who have not finished developing — the squads span 86 nations, so the pool is wider than the league's size suggests.

You get an objective from the board and a budget that rarely matches it. Everything after that — shape, signings, renewals, youth intake, cup priorities — is your call, and the season simulates on it. No download, no account needed to start, save kept in your browser.

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Common questions

Can I manage an EFL Championship club for free?

Yes. All 24 EFL Championship clubs are playable in Gaffa at no cost — there is no download, no paid tier and no account needed to start. Pick a club, set your tactics, work the transfer market and simulate the season in your browser.

Which EFL Championship clubs are in the game?

Every club in the division: West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and 18 more. Each carries a full squad, so EFL Championship has 644 players in total.

Do I need an account to save my EFL Championship season?

Not to begin with. Progress is kept in your browser's own storage and is waiting the next time you open the game on that device. After two days of play, starting a new season needs a free account.