Promotion from the Championship to the Premier League is a prize worth £90 million to the clubs who achieve it, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. The value of promotion has gone up by 50 per cent since last year.

Five clubs are still in contention for promotion to the Premier League next season - Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City, Leicester City, Blackpool and Swansea City.

"The Championship Play-off Final winners will benefit from at least £40m of additional revenue in 2010/11, the vast majority of this coming from television income and the rest from higher gate receipts and increased commercial income," said Paul Rawnsley, Director of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

"In addition, even if a club is relegated after one year in the Premier League, parachute payments may be received over the following four seasons of up to £48m."

Deloitte said statistics proved that it was not entirely true that the gulf between the Premier League and the Championship is unbridgeable, as 17 of the last 30 newly promoted clubs have managed to stay up for at least a season.