New Wembley change revealed ahead of Hull City v Middlesbrough | OneFootball

The national stadium will look slightly different for a charitable cause in this season's play-offs

Hull City and Middlesbrough are just over a day away from getting the 2025/26 Championship play-off final underway, with it being well-documented that the encounter is the most lucrative financial game in club football.

As well as the glory of returning to the Premier League, the winning outfit will receive in excess of £200m in prize funds, with the Tigers and Reds both spending nine years outside the top-flight after being relegated alongside each other in 2016/17, just 12 months after they were promoted from the Championship.

Hull are firmly remaining as the underdogs, as they have done for the vast majority of the season, ahead of the showpiece event in North London, despite overcoming the challenge of third-placed Millwall in the play-off semi-finals, with the decisive result being a 2-0 success at The Den.

Kim Hellberg's side, meanwhile, have been embroiled in what is being dubbed as the EFL's most seismic-ever story, as they have been reinstated into the play-offs this week after a league arbitration panel upheld an independent disciplinary commission's punishment towards Southampton, which was an expulsion from the play-offs and a four-point deduction for 2026/27 after admitting to multiple breaches of the EFL's 127th regulation.

A 3:30PM kick-off was then fully rubber-stamped after days of uncertainty, with thousands from East Yorkshire and Teesside now set to descend on Wembley in the hope of seeing their team win promotion.

It is Hull's first visit to the national stadium in 10 years, while Middlesbrough have had to wait one year longer.

As a result, plenty of the stadium surroundings will have definitely changed since then, but another in-ground change has now been revealed for a charitable cause.

Wembley Stadium change revealed ahead of Hull City vs Middlesbrough Championship play-off final

As was seen in last season's play-offs, EFL sponsors, Sky Bet, have partnered with the British Heart Foundation to continue the 'Every M1nute Matters' campaign.

As such, fans with inspiring stories associated with cardiac arrest and CPR are being recognised in a bid to encourage the approximately 200,000 overall crowds for the upcoming Championship, League One and League Two play-off finals, as well as those watching across the globe, to learn more.

The main bulk of Hull and Middlesbrough supporters will be situated in the East and West stands of Wembley, and they are to be renamed, with fresh signage, to the Pippa Sharman Stand and the Andy Wall Stands.

Sharman, a Reading supporter, saw her efforts help save the life of an opposition supporter after a match, whilst Wall survived a cardiac arrest which occurred whilst attending a Norwich City fixture.

The North and South stands will also be renamed after Callum Lawson - a Sunderland fan who survived a cardiac arrest during their 2025 play-off final win over Sheffield United - and Ed McCann - a Bradford City follower whose life was saved by the performance of CPR by a Burnley supporter - respectively.

Tom Lockyer talks about Wembley Stadium change ahead of EFL play-off finals

Just three years ago, Luton Town won promotion to the Premier League at Wembley against Coventry City in a penalty shootout, completing the Hatters' remarkable rise from the National League to the Premier League in less than 10 years.

However, Tom Lockyer was unable to be a part of the post-match celebrations after suffering the first of two cardiac arrests in less than 12 months early in the match.

The 31-year-old, most recently of Bristol Rovers, is now an ambassador for the British Heart Foundation, and said: “These stories are proof that ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference when every minute matters.

"Whether they survived a cardiac arrest or stepped forward to help someone else, each of these fans has shown incredible courage.”

The inspiring changes will also be seen by supporters of Bolton Wanderers, Stockport County, Notts County and Salford City for their respective finals on Sunday and bank holiday Monday afternoon.