Championship play-offs to change - but will it be good change for the second tier?

The English Football League (EFL) and its Championship clubs voted on Thursday, March 5, 2026, to expand the division's end-of-season promotion play-offs from four teams to six, beginning with the 2026/27 campaign. This historic change, the first major alteration to the second-tier play-off system since 1990, was passed by a majority vote and is designed to increase competitive intrigue and provide more clubs with a shot at Premier League promotion. The new format is expected to closely mirror the system used in the National League, albeit with key distinctions. Under the proposed structure, the teams finishing first and second will gain automatic promotion as usual. Clubs finishing third and fourth will qualify directly for the two-legged semi-finals. Meanwhile, teams placed fifth through eighth will enter a preliminary 'eliminator' round, where fifth will host eighth and sixth will host seventh in one-off matches. The winners of these eliminators will then advance to face the third and fourth-placed teams in the semi-finals, with the eventual winners meeting at Wembley Stadium for a place in the top flight. Analysis by Sky Sports EFL Editor Simeon Gholam suggests the positives of the expansion likely outweigh the negatives. A primary concern has been whether promoting a team that finishes as low as eighth could dilute Premier League quality. However, historical data indicates it is already rare for a sixth-placed side to win the play-offs, having occurred only twice since 2005, making an eighth-placed champion an even longer prospect. The competitive gap between sixth and eighth is often minimal—averaging under five points—whereas the chasm between third and sixth is typically over ten points, suggesting the higher-seeded teams retain a significant advantage. Furthermore, the new structure offers a tangible incentive for clubs to finish third or fourth to avoid the extra eliminator round, potentially maintaining competitive intensity deeper into the season. While the expansion may not drastically reduce the number of 'dead rubber' matches at season's end, which are already rare in the Championship, it will create additional high-stakes spectacle. The eliminator matches themselves are anticipated to be dramatic, single-game events. Critics point to the already congested fixture calendar and potential unfairness seen in the National League model, but the Championship's retention of two-legged semi-finals and automatic promotion for the top two addresses some of these issues. The precise format will be finalized at a later vote, possibly during the league's summer AGM, but the fundamental shift to a six-team play-off is now set.