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And fans of the clubs celebrate - on Sunday, the two strongest second-tier teams in terms of capacity in the English "Championship" league secured their place in the next season's "Premier" league.
This was decided by the failure of the third-placed "Derby" team against "Crystal Palace". Now this team, one round away from the end of the competition, lags behind "Sunderland" by four points and "Birmingham" by five points, so they will have to fight for the only remaining ticket among the strongest in the relegation playoffs.
Next week, the leaders will finish the season with decisive matches for the title - Steve Bruce's 'blues' will face "Preston" away, while Roy Keane's team will travel to Luton.
"Just a few months ago, people wanted S.Bruce to step down," said Birmingham manager David Gold, recalling that fans were dissatisfied with an 11-point gap from the then-leading "Cardiff" club.
"It's rare for a team to suddenly shoot up the tournament table, so this is a great achievement.
One of the club's directors, Karren Brady, also assured that the coach will have enough funds to buy new talented players in the summer: "Of course, we will allocate money for that.
Clubs will receive a lot of money for broadcasting rights next season. We have learned from past mistakes and plan to invest very large sums for the future.
Sunderland also had a poor start to the season - led by Niall Quinn, in charge of the team's management, the team lost the first five games and was not mentioned among the real contenders to achieve such heights.
However, the situation was radically changed by the legendary goalkeeper R.Keane, who started his coaching career very successfully and managed to lead "Sunderland" to the highest league.
"I am very pleased with the players, who did a great job," said the coach, happily walking his dog after receiving the good news about securing promotion.
"The entire team staff, fans, Niall, and the board members have also made a significant contribution. I have felt their great support all the time.".
