Championship play-offs increased to six teams from next season

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Evening Standard

·5 March 2026

Championship play-offs increased to six teams from next season

The team who finishes eighth next season could be promoted to the Premier League

Sunderland won the Championship play-offs last season

OneFootball Videos

REUTERS

The Championship play-offs will feature six teams from next season.

The EFL announced its clubs had passed a proposal to increase the number of play-off participants from four to six at an all-club meeting on Thursday.

Supporters of the change believe it will create more interest in the run-in to the Championship season, as it gives more teams a chance to qualify for the post-season and a shot at promotion to the Premier League. Teams finishing between third and eighth will be involved.

The National League currently operates a six-team play-off tournament, where the teams finishing second and third progress straight to the semi-finals while those finishing fourth to seventh compete in quarter-finals.

The current format in the EFL - with a single-leg final at Wembley preceded by two-leg semi-finals - has been in place since the 1989-90 season.

The Championship play-off final has come to be regarded as the most lucrative single game in world football, given a place in the Premier League is at stake to the winners.

Sunderland were last season's victors, overcoming Sheffield United 2-1. The success was estimated to have secured a minimum of £200million in extra income for the Black Cats.