Sunderland won promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs in 2024-25 after finishing fourth. EFL clubs have voted in favour of expanding the Championship play-offs from four to six teams. The new system is similar to the format used in the National League and will be introduced for the 2026-27 season.

It means teams finishing from third to eighth will compete for promotion to the Premier League. Clubs finishing third and fourth will progress directly to the semi-final, while a one-legged quarter final will be played with fifth at home to eighth and sixth hosting seventh. Semi-finals will remain as two legs and the final will still take place at Wembley at the end of May.

There are currently no plans in place to expand the play-offs in League One or League Two. The proposal has been under consideration for a number of seasons and was approved by the EFL board and Football Association.

"The decision is intended to increase the number of competitive fixtures during the closing stages of the campaign, while also giving two additional clubs the opportunity to reach the play-off final at Wembley Stadium and progress to the Premier League," the EFL said.

The second tier play-offs have been contested by four teams since its introduction in the 1986-87 season. Millwall finished eighth in the Championship last season on 66 points with Bristol City claiming the final play-off spot on 68 points. Third-placed Sheffield United, who lost the play-off final to Sunderland, got 90 points.

EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said the play-offs have become a "highlight of the domestic football calendar, capturing the drama, suspense and jeopardy that make the EFL so special". "Following several months of discussion with clubs and other stakeholders, we are confident this change will further strengthen the Championship as a competition and give more clubs and their supporters a genuine opportunity of achieving promotion," Birch said.

The National League has been pushing for a third promotion place to be added as part of its 3UP campaign. All clubs have been discussing the "alignment requirements" at a general meeting this week, however no formal vote is planned. The EFL has previously said any change to the position of promotion and relegation in any division would require approval from a majority of EFL clubs, including a majority in the Championship.

Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.