EFL Clubs to Vote on Championship Play-Off Expansion
Tuesday, 10th Feb 2026 19:54

EFL clubs will vote on whether to expand the Championship play-offs to six clubs at an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday 5th March.

In September, Preston North End chief executive Peter Ridsdale revived an initiative previously put forward by one-time Crystal Palace and Bristol City chief executive Phil Alexander, who is now CEO of the National League.

The proposal broadly follows the structure of the National League’s play-offs with the fifth-finishing side hosting the eighth-placed team and sixth at home to seventh in one-off matches.

The winners would then play the teams third and fourth in two-legged semi-finals - differing from the National League where there are one-off games throughout - before the traditional Wembley final.

Having sounded clubs out, the EFL is confident the proposal will receive the simple majority it requires to pass with the new system used for the first time in 2026/27.

The FA has given its approval, despite concerns from the Premier League that the potential for an eighth-placed Championship side winning promotion would lead to a reduction in quality and competitiveness.

When the switch was first mooted in September, Town boss Kieran McKenna gave the idea a tentative nod of approval.

“I’ve only seen that this afternoon,” said McKenna, who is yet to compete in the play-offs as a manager.

“I get it, sort of extends it. But I feel like it’s really competitive anyway, if you look at the last few seasons in the Championship and the way teams can go up and down the league with a run and how tight it’s been at the bottom.

“I know the teams at the top for the last one or two seasons have hit a really high points total, but there’s no guarantee that’s going to continue forever.

“There’s no doubt, even coming back into it, you realise again watching the other teams and the other games, it’s one of the most competitive divisions in world football already.

“The gap between every team is small, every team has good players, you can get good players in the Championship whether you’ve got a big budget or a small budget. It’s one of the most competitive divisions anywhere.

“Extending that to give a few more teams something to fight for in the last couple of games would probably bring more jeopardy to it at the end, so I can see the thinking behind it.”

So he’d give it the OK if it were down to him? “I’d have to think about it a little bit further.”

Photo: Action Images via Reuters

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smithlarr added 20:08 - Feb 10 Perhaps we could expand it to 24 teams, and have them play out the playoffs over the course of 9 months?
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Michael101 added 20:26 - Feb 10 Get rid of play offs completely, just 2 up 2 down on all divisions.
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Brogan55 added 20:36 - Feb 10 So we extend the season by another 3 to 7 days,to fit in this extra game.Last season Millwall would of been the 8th team,24 points less than the 3rd team,Sheffield United.I think that is stretching it a bit too far.But then the fact it will create more money will most probably win the day,as usual.
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armchaircritic59 added 20:38 - Feb 10

Total joke, just another attempt to make more money and reward failure. If it was up to me I'd scrap play offs altogether, top 3 up automatically. Success and consistency rewarded instead of putting so called entertainment first.

Of course it will get passed, many more clubs who are far more unlikely than likely to make the top 3 or 6 under the current rules, will fancy their chances of sneaking into playoffs and getting lucky over a few matches.

Not sure what is happening to the game I love going back over 63 years. Being ruined by a bunch of buffoons. Please leave things alone unless it is genuinely a change for the good. This most certainly isn't!

trevski_s added 20:41 - Feb 10

Playoffs should just be scrapped altogether. Ive always hated the system (even when we got promoted via them), never seems fair if a team that came in 6th say 20 points off 3rd place can still get promoted.
Should be either:

Top 3 go up and bottom 3 go down
or
Top 2 go up and bottom 2 go down with 3rd from top plays the 3rd from bottom in the league above (like a lot of the European leagues do)

A playoff match should only be used if a deciding position is tied on points and results. So for example if 3rd and 4th (a promotion spot) are tied on points and the results in their 2 fixtures were a win a piece or 2 draws, THEN those 2 teams face each other one more time

timkatieadamitfc added 20:44 - Feb 10 Absolutely spot on armchair!
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Westy added 20:45 - Feb 10

Football will destroy itself in the end through greed. What is the point of having a 46 game league season turned into what is a cup scenario at the end. If I had anything to do with it we would go back to automatic promotion only - do away with the play-offs altogether. They were originally designed to reduce the number of teams in the top flight to 20 - a temporary means by which to do this., but as sure as the Sun comes up they were, as I knew they would, made permanent as the football authorities always intended.

Mark added 20:51 - Feb 10 So we are turning leagues into cups and cups into leagues. Ever more matches, ever more football on TV, ever more advertising. Where does it end? Where is the consultation with fans? Ipswich should vote against this proposal.
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RetroBlue added 20:59 - Feb 10 Its all about KEEERCHING ££££££
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OliveR16 added 21:36 - Feb 10 Get a bunch of American owners, get American Play Offs I'm afraid.
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bluelad7 added 22:37 - Feb 10 More expense on fans who have a team that has finished third. IF they do the same for the PL then fine. Bottom two down then next six in play offs to decide last relegation place. They won’t do that will they. Money Money Money.
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runningout added 23:00 - Feb 10 makes you wonder why we have season… Should you finish in top play-off place. There will instances where there will be massive point differences. Never been a fan of play-offs, entertaining or not. It’s morally wrong
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BtreeBlueBlood added 23:37 - Feb 10 Have a play off for the 3 rd team to get relegated in the same way! That should give every team something to play for!
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PortmanTerrorist added 23:53 - Feb 10

If the goal is to get the best teams in the higher league then Play Offs were always flawed, as they create a lottery versus the consistency required in the League....but as folks have said, money talks and let's be honest they have given our Club three of the greatest games and fan experiences in our history....we can even forget the previous years' agonies in late 1990s accordingly !

Gforce added 23:53 - Feb 10 Absolutely ridiculous idea,but if it's the only way clubs like Preston and Bristol City can ever be promoted ,then they are obviously going to vote for it.(Along with the majority of the others)
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davidsc1971 added 00:33 - Feb 11 Here's a whacky thought - why not play off over the course of 9 months and the teams that finish in 1st, 2nd or 3rd go up?
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armchaircritic59 added 00:58 - Feb 11

Gforce, precisely a part of what I posted above. Makes a mockery of the game, finish a third of the way down the league, get lucky in a few matches at the end and bingo! Total nonsense. How about the powers that be sort out things that really need sorting out. Such as VAR, and getting official timekeepers at all matches, adding on the time that the ball spends out of play and any breaks in play for injuries etc. What happened at Portman Road early in the season with Derby would eventually die out, when teams realise that their time wasting is definitely all going to be added on at the end. Guess that doesn't make anyone any money though!

RobITFC added 02:51 - Feb 11 Soon it will be last game of the season and a chance of play offs or relegation !
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1960H added 06:57 - Feb 11 It's called a league for a reason, I hate the play offs they make a mockery of the season that has just finished and the positions the respective clubs finished in, in my opinion they should be scrapped and we have a three up, three down system as others have said its all about money, money, money!
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Len_Brennan added 07:04 - Feb 11

Rather than looking to extend the playoffs into rewarding even more teams further down the league, who are clearly significantly inferior to the side finishing 3rd over the course of a season, they should be looking to recognise when there is a massive points difference between 3rd and the other clubs in the playoff places, and then rewarding the 3rd placed club - eg. any club finishing 4th - 6th must finish within X points of the 3rd placed club's points total in order to participate in the playoffs.
At least then you wouldn't have the ludicrous situation of a team who just miss out on automatic promotion, having to get over that before potentially losing out on a promotion they 'deserve', to a side that finished 20+ points behind them after a 9 month competition.

Saxonblue74 added 07:06 - Feb 11 So, finish in the top 3rd and you're in with a shout? Ridiculous proposal. As others have said the play off system is often unfair to 3rd place as it is. Should be reducing it, not increasing.
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Dissboyitfc added 07:09 - Feb 11

A massive no from me, shyte idea! So a team sneaks into 8th position having spent most of the season near the bottom and that teams aim was to avoid relegation manages to get promoted how the heck are they going to cope with the perm? most teams struggle who get promoted from 1st or second positions securing a massive points total! Last season sheffield 3rd on 90 points Millwall on 66 points! Thats just wrong!

Football once belonged to the fans, now its only about the money! I reckon changes should get voted on by the fans or just leave it alone, now there's a thought!

gpstracker added 08:03 - Feb 11 Maybe the playoff idea could be applied to the bottom 6 leaving 10 mid table teams with an early summer holiday.
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Steelmonkey added 08:13 - Feb 11

I hate the whole idea of play offs, why have a league and then turn it into what is essentially a cup competition, or another mini league.
I’d rather it went back to three automatic promotion places, look what has happened to Sheffield Utd, they finished third in the league fourteen points ahead of fourth place and now through lack of funding or poor management making decisions have found themselves floundering in the bottom half of the Championship Instead of reaping the benefits of promotion for which they richly deserved.

Westy added 08:20 - Feb 11 If approved, and I'm sure it will be, it will take a little from the importance of each of the 46 scheduled league games that each team has to play. If you are 'in the hat' for the play-offs then you are 'in'. In that sense 8th is as good as 3rd so that there will be less importance attached to each league game because 8th will be good enough!. Totally against this.
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