Two huge changes coming to EFL Championship from 2026/27 season | OneFootball

Next season will see several important changes that will affect every single club.

This season has been a typically dramatic one in the EFL Championship, and we have not even witnessed the play-off final yet.

Coventry City were the runaway champions, achieving promotion alongside Ipswich Town, who needed a final-day victory over QPR to cement second place.

As it stands, Hull City will take on Southampton in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, but with the Spygate hearing looming, there is every chance that there could be amendments.

It has been a season like no other, but next term will literally define that term, as there have been reports of two key changes heading into the 2026-27 campaign.

SCR to be implemented for 2026-27 Championship season

SCR stands for squad cost ratio and is a new financial control system designed to limit how much clubs spend on their playing squad relative to their income.

The system will be implemented in the Championship for the 2026-27 season after 20 of the 24 clubs voted in favour, according to The Telegraph's John Percy.

This will replace the current Profit and Sustainability (PSR) system, which limits how much money a football club can lose over a rolling multi-year period, to promote long-term financial stability.

In simple terms, SCR rules will mean that clubs will be restricted to spending a percentage of annual football revenue on squad costs.

Squad costs could include player wages, coaching wages, transfer amortisation and agent fees, with spending set to be capped at 85 per cent of football revenue.

For example, if a club makes £50million in revenue in a year, then they will be limited to spending £42.5million on squad costs that same period.

The reason this is set to be brought in is that under PSR, clubs could effectively gamble on promotion, with punishments not occurring until years later, whereas SCR should prevent this from happening.

What will the new play-off system look like?

Not only will financial rules change, but the format of the play-offs is also set to change, with the number of teams qualifying increasing from four to six.

This means that the sides that finish seventh and eighth will also enter the lottery of the play-offs in what will mirror the current system utilised by the National League.

The teams that finish third and fourth will go straight through to the play-off semi-finals, while those finishing between fifth and eighth will enter an eliminator.

The eliminators will see the side that finishes fifth hosting the side that finishes eighth, while sixth will welcome seventh, both in a one-legged shootout.

After that, the play-offs will enter a more familiar format, as the remaining teams will play in a two-legged semi-final, with the clubs that finished third and fourth benefiting from home advantage in the second leg.

The changes to the format have been met with a mixed reception, as many believe those finishing below sixth are undeserving of promotion, while some have praised it for providing greater reward for those who are less likely to reach the top six.

Whatever happens, it promises to be a season full of learning for supporters as we get to grips with not just one but two major changes to the division we are used to.