London (AP) – Former European Cup winners Nottingham Forest are returning to the Premier League after 23 years.
The 1978 English football champions beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 (1-0) in the promotion playoffs at Wembley Stadium in London. In front of 80,019 spectators, Levi Colwill scored the decisive own goal in the 43rd minute.
Second division champions FC Fulham and AFC Bournemouth had previously managed direct promotion. In the playoffs, four teams determined the third promoted team. According to financial experts, the leap into the English top flight is worth at least £170m (€200m).
Nottingham won the European Cup in 1979 and 1980 and last played in the Premier League in 1999. Huddersfield were promoted to the English top flight for the first time since the Premier League was launched in 1992 in 2017, before being relegated to the Championship in 2019.
