When the EFL fixtures for 2026/27 will actually be announced | OneFootball

Championship, League One and League Two supporters will be eagerly anticipating fixture release day

Although the domestic season does not officially conclude until June 30th, Monday's League Two play-off final between Notts County and Salford City marked the end of any on-pitch action involving the 72 EFL clubs for 2025/26.

As is always the case, the Championship, League One and League Two have lived up to expectations when it comes to serving up drama, excitement and agony in equal measure, and more of the same is to come for the 2026/27 season that is less than three months away from kickstarting on the pitch.

West Ham United, Burnley and Wolves are all to return to the second tier next season and have seen their Premier League spots taken up by Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City, whilst at the opposite end of the spectrum, Harrogate Town and Barrow are to make the unwanted return to non-league football, and their places in the fourth tier now belong to York City and Rochdale - both of whom accrued over 105 points in this season's National League.

Of course, the final domestic game of 2025/26 will be the UEFA Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on Saturday afternoon, with the very first 48-team FIFA World Cup commencing on June 11th.

However, amid all the excitement provided by a major tournament, supporters of clubs up and down the country are now waiting with anticipation to see the order of their 46-game regular seasons for next season.

When Championship, League One and League Two clubs and supporters will learn of their 2026/27 fixture schedule

It has become the norm for supporters of clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two to learn of their respective fixture schedules towards the end of June, and that is to be no different this time around.

Indeed, it has been confirmed that the upcoming 'fixture release day' for the EFL will be on Thursday, 25th June at midday, six days after those in the Premier League are to learn of their 38-game campaign.

One major change for the upcoming season in the EFL is that the first round of the EFL Cup will take centre-stage before the start of the regular season, and that those games will take place between Friday, 7th August and Monday, 10th August, before the first game of the entire league campaign will take place on Friday, August 14th.

Sky Sports have also confirmed that matches picked for live television coverage will be announced in due course, although the date for the 46th, and final, round of the season is yet to be revealed.

Championship clubs may have a season of over 50 matches depending on success rate

As well as a change to the fixture schedule seeing the EFL Cup first round kickstart the campaign for the first time in 14 seasons, depending on their success rate in all competitions, the sides who finish seventh and eighth in the Championship could play over 50 matches.

It has been well-documented that a change to the division's play-off format is to be incorporated, seeing the teams who finish in the aforementioned positions take part in one-off eliminators against the sides who finish fifth and sixth, before playing a normal two-legged semi-final affair against the teams placed third and fourth to decide who will play at Wembley Stadium for the Championship play-off final, which was worth a reported £215m to this season's eventual winners, Hull.

It also remains to be seen how the 24 clubs in the division will fare, with Lincoln City promoted off the back of a 29-game unbeaten run alongside Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers, while West Ham and Burnley are in managerial limbo at this moment in time after their respective relegations from the Premier League.