9 things Newcastle fans need to know about Championship '“ and Sunderland fans don't!

Newcastle United were relegated to the Championship after a six-year stay in the Premier League '“ thanks to Sunderland's win over Everton.
Chris HughtonChris Hughton
Chris Hughton

The Black Cats’ 3-0 home win at the Stadium of Light condemned the Mags to the division after a dismal nine months on the field.

Here are nine things United fans should know about English football's second tier ahead of the 2016-17 campaign:

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1. Newcastle will get parachute payments from the Premier League for up to three years. United will pocket around £40million from the Premier League next season, and the total figure, over three years, could be closer to £90million if the club fails to return to the top flight in that time.

2. The Championship fixtures are out on June 22. Sky Sports hold the live broadcast rights to the division, which is sponsored by Sky Bet.

3. United will kick of their Championship campaign on the weekend of August 6/7. The Premier League starts a week later.

4. Newcastle have never played newly-promoted Burton Albion in any competition. The Pirelli Stadium has a capacity of 6,912 ((2,034 seated).

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5. Derby County were the best-supported team in the Championship this season with an average crowd of 29,654 at the iPro Stadium.

6. The 19 other confirmed teams in next season's Championship are Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Brentford, Bristol City, Burton Albion, Cardiff City, Fulham, Huddersfield Town, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

7. Barnsley, Bradford City, Millwall and Walsall are in the League One play-offs. One of them will join United in the Championship.

8. Derby, Brighton and Hove Albion, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday are vying for promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs. The three losing teams will stay in the Championship next season.

9. Newcastle were promoted from the Championship as champions in 2009-10 with 102 points. West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool also went up that season.