Coventry City will return to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years after securing their promotion from the Championship with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers on Friday.
A founding member of Premier League in 1992-93, Coventry have not been back since relegation in 2000-01.
The West Midlands side will now rejoin the elite after a stunning campaign in the second tier under manager Frank Lampard.
Lampard’s side only needed a point from Friday’s match at Ewood Park to seal promotion but looked like being denied after Ryoya Morishita gave Blackburn the lead, before Bobby Thomas rose highest to head in from a free kick in the 84th minute.
The goal and the final whistle minutes later prompted wild celebrations from the more than 7,000 travelling Coventry supporters packed in to the away end in Lancashire.
“I was happy with that one [the equaliser],” Lampard said. “This is a special night for the football club, which is bigger than all of us.”
The Sky Blues’ lowest ebb came when they dropped into the fourth tier in 2017 but they have fought their way back and, after losing to Luton in the playoff final in 2023, have stormed the Championship under Lampard this season to secure their Premier League return with three matches to spare.
They will have to wait to secure the title, with second-placed Ipswich now 11 points behind with five matches to play.
Lampard was quick to praise everyone involved with their rise from League Two back to the Premier League, with a special mention for his predecessor Mark Robins.
“It can never be clearear when you see the fans at the end of the game,” he said. “A club that’s suffered for 25 years in terms of since they’ve been in the Premier League and that journey going down to League Two.
“Credit to everyone involved in those tough years. Mark Robins, of course, he has to have a shout out. But it’s a massive, massive achievement from everyone involved and it’s really special.
“I wanted to do it away from home a little bit. I know what it’s like to do it this way, it’s the fans that come all the time, away from home. They’re really dedicated fans and they’re having the night of their lives. It’s what we do this job for.”
Friday’s result also means a return to the Premier League for Lampard. The former England international, who won three Premier League titles as a player with Chelsea, spent 18 months as manager at Stamford Bridge followed by a year in charge of Everton.
He last coached in the top flight during nine games as Chelsea interim manager at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Coventry spent 34 straight years in England’s top division and garnered a reputation for a series of dramatic escapes from Premier League relegation before finally succumbing to the drop in 2001. The club won their only major trophy with the FA Cup in 1987.–ESPN
