Stephen Michael Bywater is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

The 2007 Football League Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 28 May 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Derby County and West Bromwich Albion. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2006–07 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the clubs placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Derby County ended the season in third position while West Bromwich Albion finished fourth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2007–08 season in the Premier League. Winning the game was estimated to be worth up to £60 million to the successful team.