READING, ENGLAND – MAY 16: Daniel Williams of Reading celerbrates after during the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Second Leg match between Reading and Fulham at Madejski Stadium on May 16, 2017 in Reading, England. (Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)

The Championship playoff final has been set with one spot available in the Premier League for the winner. Reading, who hasn’t played in the Premier League since 2013, will face Huddersfield Town, who hasn’t played top flight soccer in England since 1972 and as recently as 2004 was playing in England’s fourth tier. The winning club will join Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion as the third team promoted to next year’s Premier League.

Last year’s final was estimated to be worth £170 million to victorious Hull City, so it’s plausible to believe that this year’s final might be worth £200 million to the winning club. Even if a club suffers immediate relegation back to the Championship, that money plus the Premier League’s parachute payments might be enough to help a club sustain itself for a decade or more.

Reading finished third in the Championship this season after finish 17th last season. Managed by former Dutch international Jaap Stam, the club has been steadily improving since it’s last top flight appearance four years ago, but just made waves after it was announced that Chinese brother and sister Dai Yongge and Dai Xiuli bought 75% of the club from their current Thai owners. The Premier League is reportedly “cautious” about the deal, however the Football League, which oversees the Championship will not block the deal’s consummation. They reportedly were close to buying Hull City last year as well but were rumored to have failed the Premier League’s “fit and proper” test.

Huddersfield Town has been one of the great stories of English football in recent memory. German-American manager David Wagner, once a full US international, took over the club in November of last year and stabilized it amidst a relegation battle, finishing two spots below Reading in the table. But this year, the club took a giant leap forward even leading the Championship for a time in the fall, before steadying themselves in a playoff position from December onward. Wagner would become the second American to ever manage in the Premier League if Hudds win, joining Bob Bradley’s brief tenure at Swansea City from last fall.

Reading were able to beat Fulham 2-1 on aggregate, while Huddersfield Beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-3 on penalties at Hillsbrough after the two legs finished 1-1. Reading also have an American connection, with German-American midfielder Danny Williams having made over 130 league appearances for the Royals since 2013 and scoring 13 league goals for the club.

The game will be played Monday, May 29 at Wembley at 3 PM local time, 10 AM on the East Coast.

[World Soccer Talk]

About Matt Lichtenstadter

Recent Maryland graduate. I've written for many sites including World Soccer Talk, GianlucaDiMarzio.com, Testudo Times, Yahoo's Puck Daddy Blog and more. Houndstooth is still cool, at least to me. Follow me @MattsMusings1 on Twitter, e-mail me about life and potential jobs at matthewaaron9 at Yahoo dot com.