EFL approves six-team Championship play-offs to cut dead rubbers | OneFootball

The EFL has approved expanding the Championship play-offs to six teams to keep more clubs in contention and add extra jeopardy. According to NY Times, clubs voted 67 to one in favour, with one abstention, unanimous in the Championship and near-unanimous across Leagues One and Two.

Tranmere Rovers cast the only no vote amid a run of 10 defeats in 11 League Two matches that saw manager Andy Crosby sacked on Wednesday. Their opposition did not alter the outcome.

Peter Ridsdale revived the plan in September, two decades after Phil Alexander’s 2003 proposal, pitching fewer dead rubbers and at least two extra high-stakes games.

Executives privately backed it for excitement and balance, saying it is not about money and could give non-parachute clubs a better chance amid frustration with parachute-fuelled rebounds.

The Championship will keep two-leg semi-finals, higher seeds at home in the second leg, and, after Coventry City owner Doug King’s suggestion, third place will meet the lowest-ranked semi-finalist. Lower seeds seldom prevail, with Blackpool the last sixth-placed winners in 2010, while the National League’s six-team format since 2018 has delivered no seventh-placed promotions and only one from sixth.

Fixture congestion remains a concern, yet further expansion to League One and League Two will be debated. Some insiders do not expect movement before the media-rights cycle ends in 2029, and broader change could hinge on a new financial settlement or intervention by the independent regulator.

Source: NY Times