The

Football League play-offs The English Football League play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of the English football leagu ...

for the 1998–99 season were held in May 1999, with the finals taking place at the old

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

in London. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League First Division and

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

table. The winners of the semi-finals went through to the finals, with the winner of the matches gaining

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

for the following season.

Background

The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places. In the First Division,

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, who were aiming to return to the top flight after a 4-year absence, finished one point behind second placed

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

, who in turn finished 18 points behind champions Sunderland, who returned to the top flight after being

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

two seasons previously.

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

, who were aiming to return to the top flight after 13 years outside the top division, finished in fourth place in the table.

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

, who were aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 1988, finished in fifth place. Bolton Wanderers, who were aiming to return to the top flight after relegation the previous season, finished one point behind Watford in sixth place.

First Division

Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Ipswich Town 4–4 Bolton Wanderers on aggregate. Bolton Wanderers won on away goals.'' ---- ''Birmingham City 1–1 Watford on aggregate. Watford won 7–6 on penalties.''

Final

Second Division

Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Gillingham won 2–1 on aggregate.'' ---- ''Manchester City won 2–1 on aggregate.''

Final

Third Division

Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Rotherham United 0–0 Leyton Orient on aggregate. Leyton Orient won 4–2 on penalties.'' ---- ''Scunthorpe United won 3–2 on aggregate.''

Final

External links

Football League website
{{1998–99 in English football English Football League play-offs