Brighton promoted to Premier League; thousands flood field to celebrate

Thousands celebrated on the field after Brighton & Hove Albion secured its return to England's top flight for the first time in 34 years.

BRIGHTON, England (AP) – Brighton will play in the top-flight of English soccer for the first time in 34 years after securing promotion to the Premier League on Monday.

Thousands of fans flooded the field at the south-coast club's ground on Monday after a 2-1 victory over Wigan.

A seventh successive win ensured Brighton will finish in the two automatic promotion places in the League Championship. Chris Hughton's side has a seven-point lead over Newcastle, the only remaining title contender.

Reading and Huddersfield could also finish in the top two but they can't finish in first place.

Brighton will play for the first time in the Premier League, which was launched in 1992. It's a remarkable recovery for a team that almost dropped out of the top four professional leagues 20 years ago.