How 49ers-owned Leeds United can secure Premier League promotion originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Three months after Super Bowl LVIII, Jed York and 49ers Enterprises face another high-stakes winner-take-all game.
English football club Leeds United – who is owned by 49ers Enterprises – will face Southampton FC in the EFL Championship play-off final next Sunday at Wembley Stadium. The winner is promoted to the top tier of the Premier League, while the loser remains in the second-tier EFL Championship for the next season.
York and 49ers companies acquired a majority stake at the English football club in June 2023, appointing San Francisco executive vice-president of football operations Paraag Marathe as president of Leeds.
Marathe has overseen a quick and successful turnaround since taking charge last summer, with the chance of an exceptional end to his debut season if he secures promotion with a victory over Southampton.
The EFL Championship is the second tier of English football, with 24 teams, with three of them winning coveted promotion from the Premier League each season. The top two teams in total points at the end of the 46 game week season earn automatic promotion to their Premier League, while third to sixth place teams face off in a playoff-style knockout tournament.
Leeds narrowly missed out on an automatic bid, finishing with 96 points in third place, behind only Ipswich Town (96 points) and Leicester City (97) in the Championship table during the 2023-24 season.
This put Leeds in the four-team EFL play-offs along with Southampton FC, West Brom Albion FC and Norwich City. Leeds faced Norwich City in the semi-final, battling to a 0-0 draw before booking a place in the final with a 4-0 win on Thursday.
Both Leeds and Southampton were in the Premier League during the 2022-23 season before being relegated to the Championship, with both clubs well aware of what is at stake in Sunday’s match.
In addition to the prestige that comes with playing in the Premier League, promotion also brings significant financial rewards, which could be key for a team looking to take the next step as a competitive club.
Although it doesn’t take away someone else’s pain brutal Super Bowl defeata win for Leeds on Sunday could provide a much-needed morale boost for York and 49ers Enterprises.
