The EFL have today announced that clubs have approved plans to expand the number of teams in the Championship play-offs from four to six at the start of the 2026/27 season.
It is a controversial topic that has created much discussion in recent weeks, with deeper issues in the pyramid not yet addressed. It is also a change for which there was little to no demand until the proposals were recently announced.
These changes will see the EFL follow the system introduced by the National League in 17/18, with a twist. Instead of single-leg semi-final ties, the home-and-away matches will remain, with an additional eliminator beforehand. Only the Championship will follow this format at the moment.
Why Have The Clubs Voted For It?
Money. At the end of the day, football is a business. Adding two further games means that there is more cash to be made from ticket sales, matchday revenue and TV money. Clubs will see this as an increased opportunity to win promotion, with two more slots available. So why wouldn’t they vote in favour?
Unfortunately, doing so increases the gamble that many owners may be willing to take to win promotion. Take Derby County, for example. In 2019, Mel Morris risked it all to reach the promised land of the Premier League, and the Rams almost went out of business after failing in that quest. Football is unsustainable in its current format, and dangling the carrot of promotion for more teams will only increase the risk of more clubs dicing with their very existence.
However, finishing 3rd and 4th is finally more beneficial, as those sides will play fewer games than the four other teams involved in the end of season competition. There should also be fewer dead rubber games at the end of the season, with more high-stakes matches as the campaign draws to an end. That can only be a good thing, right?
Following The National League
The fifth tier of English football, despite no direct link, is very much involved in this conversation. Early in 2025, the National League launched their 3UP campaign, amid increasing calls for an additional automatic promotion place from the National League. All 72 teams in the top two divisions of non-league football came together for this, with justified reason too.
Since automatic promotion was introduced ahead of the 1986/87 campaign, no team promoted from the fifth tier have ever been relegated in the following season. In fact, teams tend to adapt very well to League Two football, with the likes of Stockport County and Wrexham prime examples of that in recent years.
Therefore, a second automatic promotion place in the National League felt more necessary than expanding the Championship play-offs, given the gap is widening between the top two divisions of English football. This season may be an outlier, given that Sunderland and potentially Leeds United may stay up, but it has certainly been the case over the past decade that immediate survival in the Premier League is tougher.
It feels very likely that the format will be implemented in League One and League Two in the near future, which will only infuriate clubs in the National League even more. That would mean ninth place in the fourth tier would have a chance at winning promotion, while only two clubs will be relegated. Surely that isn’t a viable proposal for an English division, where 38% of the division are involved in promotion.
Is A Change Actually Needed?
Looking at some of the epic play-off semi-final ties, how different would they have turned out with an extra game beforehand? The iconic Swindon Town 5-5 Sheffield United scoreline in 2015. Derby County’s comeback at Leeds United a few years later. Sheffield Wednesday’s even unlikelier turnaround against Peterborough United. Dan Ballard 121:59 for Sunderland vs Coventry City last season. And, of course, Troy Deeney’s winner against Leicester City.
Will we instead get more examples of the Sheffield United vs Bristol City last season, where the Blades finished 22 points ahead of the 6th place outfit and won both legs 3-0. For context, Blackburn Rovers and Millwall finished two points behind, so the outcome may have been the same, regardless of who plays the 3rd place outfit.
On the flip side, having a break inbetween for the sides finishing 3rd and 4th isn’t always beneficial. York City were 23 points ahead of Oldham Athletic in their play-off tie, but ended up losing 3-0 to the Latics. That 15-day break for the Minstermen clearly worked against them, while Oldham built momentum by thrashing Halifax 4-0.
These arguments will rumble on, but there won’t be any evidence to substantiate either side of the coin until next season’s Championship comes to a close.
