EFL clubs to vote on Championship play-offs expansion this week | OneFootball

English Football League clubs are set to cast a crucial vote on Thursday concerning a significant expansion of the Championship play-offs for the upcoming season.

The proposal aims to increase the number of participating teams from four to six, mirroring the National League's model.

Should the motion pass, the top two teams in England's second tier would still secure automatic promotion, but the play-off spots would extend to those finishing between third and eighth.

This would be a departure from the current system, which involves only teams placed third to sixth.

The vote, scheduled for late Thursday morning, requires a majority from all EFL clubs, alongside a separate majority among Championship clubs, to be carried.

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Oldham got promoted via the National League play-offs last year (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

Thursday's decision, it is understood, will focus solely on the principle of expanding the play-offs, with the precise format to be determined at a later stage, potentially during the league's annual general meeting this summer.

The National League's six-team format sees clubs finishing fourth and seventh, and fifth and sixth, face off in single-leg eliminators.

The winners then progress to join the second and third-placed teams in the semi-finals.

Last season, Oldham Athletic notably triumphed in the National League play-offs despite finishing 23 points adrift of second-placed York, a result that intensified discussions around the limited two promotion spots from the fifth tier to League Two.

While a debate concerning a potential increase of National League promotions to three teams is anticipated, no vote on this matter will take place this week.

Such a decision would necessitate the prior distribution of full briefing papers and voting slips.

The two-day all-club meeting, which commenced on Wednesday, also includes addresses from David Kogan and Richard Monks, the chair and chief executive of the Independent Football Regulator.

Kogan recently called for a new financial settlement to be agreed between the Premier League and EFL amid fears that relegation is a “near death sentence” for some clubs.