The Championship playoffs will expand from four to six teams from next season after EFL clubs voted in favour of the change at an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday. The new format, recommended by the EFL board and revealed by The Guardian last month, introduces an eliminator round similar to that used by the National League.
Under the revised structure, the fifth-placed team will host eighth, and sixth will host seventh, in single-legged ties at the higher-ranked club's ground. The winners will then progress to the two-legged semi-finals against the teams that finished third and fourth. The EFL's chief executive, Trevor Birch, said the change would enhance competitiveness and commercial appeal.
Domestic rights holder Sky Sports has approved the expansion but will not increase its rights fee for the remaining three seasons of its £935m five-year contract. However, future TV deals could be more valuable. The format may also be adopted in League One and League Two if successful.
Birch stated: '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.' The Premier League had raised objections, fearing a drop in top-flight standards if the eighth-placed team gains promotion, but the Football Association board overruled these concerns.
Critics note that eighth-placed teams have often been far behind the top three. This season, eighth-placed Derby are 12 points behind third-placed Ipswich; last season, Millwall finished eighth, 24 points behind third-placed Sheffield United. The four-team playoff format had been in place since 1988-89, and National League data suggests lower-ranked teams rarely succeed, with only Grimsby in 2022 winning promotion from outside the top four playoff spots.
