The 2014 Football League Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 24 May 2014 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Derby County and Queens Park Rangers. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2013–14 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Derby County ended the season in third place while Queens Park Rangers finished fourth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2014–15 season in the Premier League. Winning the game was estimated to be worth up to £120 million to the successful team.

The 2014 final, refereed by Lee Mason, was watched by a crowd of more than 87,000 people in rainy conditions. Queens Park Rangers won 1–0, with the only goal of the game coming from Bobby Zamora in the last minute of the game. It was QPR's first appearance in a second tier play-off final, although they had lost in the League One playoffs to Cardiff City in the 2003 final.

Queens Park Rangers were relegated back to the Championship the following season, as they finished bottom of the Premier League. Derby finished the following season in eighth place in the Championship, missing out on play-offs by a single point.

Derby County finished the regular 2013–14 season in third place in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Queens Park Rangers (QPR). Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Derby finished eight points behind Burnley (who were promoted in second place) and seventeen behind league winners Leicester City. QPR ended the season five points behind Derby.

Queens Park Rangers faced Wigan Athletic in their play-off semi-final, with the first leg taking place at the DW Stadium. Wigan were without their top scorer Nick Powell who was suffering from tonsillitis. It was a game with few chances and neither team really dominated: it ended goalless. The second leg was held at Loftus Road three days later. Wigan took the lead with an early goal from James Perch before Charlie Austin equalised from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute after Gary Caldwell fouled Junior Hoilett in the Wigan area. No further goals were scored in regular time so the game went into extra time. Austin scored his second and the winner in the 96th minute when his shot beat Scott Carson.

In the other play-off semi-final, Derby County's opponents were Brighton & Hove Albion, against whom they played the first leg at the Falmer Stadium. The home team took the lead after 18 minutes through Jesse Lingard but Derby equalised with a Chris Martin penalty awarded after Matthew Upson fouled Craig Forsyth. The winning goal for the visitors came in first-half injury time when Martin's shot rebounded off the bar, striking Brighton goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak on the back before crossing the line for an own goal. In the return leg at Pride Park, Will Hughes scored Derby's first goal from a Jamie Ward cross and Martin doubled the lead early in the second half. A George Thorne volley made it 3–0 to the home side and Jeff Hendrick extended the lead from a Patrick Bamford pass, and although Brighton scored a consolation through Kazenga LuaLua, the match ended 4–1, and Derby progressed to the play-off final as 6–2 aggregate winners.

This was Derby's third Championship play-off final, having lost 2–1 against Leicester City in the 1994 final at the old Wembley Stadium, and winning 1–0 against West Bromwich Albion in the 2007 final. Queens Park Rangers were making their first appearance in a second tier play-off final, although they had played in the League One playoffs, losing out to Cardiff City in the 2003 final in extra time. During the regular season, both teams had won their home games against one another. In November 2013, QPR won 2–1 at Loftus Road while Derby won the contest at Pride Park the following February. QPR's top scorer for the season was Austin, with 20 goals, while Martin scored more than any other player for Derby, also with 20. Derby midfielder Hughes had recently been named as the Football League Young Player of the Year at the Football League Awards.

Derby County fans were located in the West End of Wembley, with an allocation of 37,249, while QPR supporters were situated in the East End, with an allocation of 37,332. The final was refereed by Lee Mason, with assistant referees Darren England and John Brooks, while Jonathan Moss acted as fourth official. It was reported in the media and press that the match was worth up to £120 million to the winning club over three years through sponsorship and television deals.