Relegated team; Wigan Did It. Could Tottenham Do It Too?
Imagine your team gets relegated — the heartbreak, the frustration, the end of top-flight football.
Now imagine that same team lifting a major trophy just days earlier.
Sounds impossible, right?
Well… it actually happened. And under current rules, it can happen again.
1. The Wigan Miracle of 2013
In the 2012–13 season, Wigan Athletic pulled off one of the most surreal storylines in English football history.
After spending eight consecutive seasons in the Premier League, Wigan were relegated to the Championship. But just days before their final league match, something incredible happened:
They defeated Manchester City 1–0 in the FA Cup Final — winning the prestigious domestic trophy for the first time in the club’s history.
The twist? They got relegated three days later.
Still, because the FA Cup winner automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, Wigan played European football the following season — as a second-division team.
They were the first English club ever to be relegated and play in Europe the next year. A unique blend of triumph and tragedy.
2. So… Could Tottenham Do the Same?
Tottenham Hotspur have officially avoided relegation in the 2023–24 season — but let’s explore a hypothetical.
What if Spurs had been relegated — but also went on to win the Europa League?
Under UEFA rules, the winner of the Europa League qualifies directly for the Champions League group stage — regardless of their domestic league status.
That means Tottenham, as a second-tier club, would be back in Europe’s elite competition the following season — playing against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, all while competing in the EFL Championship.
It sounds bizarre, but there’s nothing in the rules preventing it.
3. Relegation ≠ Disqualification
European competition slots are based on performance, not division.
- FA Cup or Carabao Cup winners can qualify for Europe.
- Europa League and Champions League winners go straight into the next season’s UCL.
- Relegation has no bearing on that eligibility.
So yes — you could, in theory, see a team playing midweek against Barcelona and Saturday away at Rotherham.
Football is full of strange realities, and this is one of them.
4. Final Whistle: Can It Happen Again?
Wigan showed us it’s possible. Tottenham have the squad, the experience, and (sometimes) the chaos to deliver something just as unpredictable.
So here’s the question:
Could a relegated team lift a major European trophy — and return to the Champions League the hard way?
We’ve seen stranger things.
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