EFL expands Championship play-offs to six teams from next season | OneFootball

The EFL confirmed in a statement on Thursday that the Championship play-offs will expand from four to six teams from next season, giving the side finishing eighth a shot at promotion in 2026-27.

All 72 clubs approved the change at an extraordinary general meeting.

The format will broadly mirror the National League system. It is expected that fifth will face eighth and sixth play seventh. The winners would then meet third and fourth, with the two highest finishers given byes.

Thereafter the programme would mirror the current set-up, with two-legged semi-finals and a Wembley final. That match is long billed as football’s most valuable game, bringing a guaranteed revenue uplift of £180 million over three years.

The proposals aim to keep more clubs alive late in the run-in and cut dead rubbers. Since 1987 the play-offs have involved four clubs, initially three from the second tier plus the side one place above the top-flight drop zone.

From 1988-89 the places went to teams finishing third to sixth, and from 1989-90 the final became a one-off game.

This season’s play-offs remain a four-team contest, with Ipswich Town third, Millwall fourth, Hull City fifth and Wrexham sixth.

Leagues One and Two will not adopt six-team play-offs immediately, though success in the Championship could prompt similar changes in time.

Source: NY Times