Brentford FC promoted to England's first division after 74-year wait

History was made on Saturday at England’s iconic Wembley Stadium as Championship side Brentford FC ended a 74-year wait to earn promotion to the English Premier League (EPL). The other two sides from the Championship who will join The Bees in England’s premier football league will be Watford and Norwich City. Thomas Frank’s side might not have the direct qualification to the Premier League but managed to secure their spot through the Championship playoff matches. They had qualified for the playoff finals last season as well but lost to Fulham. It was a rather demoralizing loss and several fans speculated that it could be a while before The Bees would make it to the finals again. However, they defied all the odds to beat Swansea in the finals to write their names into the history books.

Both Swansea and Brentford were evenly matched ahead of the finals. Both sides went with their strongest possible starting lineups. The Bees took an early lead through an Ivan Toney penalty in the 10th minute and extended their advantage shortly after when Emiliano Marcondes put the ball in the back of the net. The Swans were further hit with a blow that might have decided the tie when Jay Fulton was shown red in the 65th minute.

Brentford, along with Norwich City and Watford will replace Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion, and Fulham in the Premier League. This will be The Bees’ first ever season in the Premier League, securing promotion to England’s top domestic competition for the first time since 1947.

The 2020-21 season will go down as one of the most significant and successful ones in the history of the club and manager Thomas Frank will be regarded as a club legend. Whether he can emulate the success of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United in their first PL season will be something to watch for.