The Championship playoffs will expand from four to six teams starting next season, following approval from EFL clubs at an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday. The change, first reported by The Guardian, introduces a quarter-final eliminator round similar to the National League format.
Under the new system, the fifth-placed team will host eighth, and sixth will host seventh in single-leg ties. The winners will then face the third and fourth-placed teams in two-legged semi-finals. The EFL's chief executive, Trevor Birch, said the change aims to increase competitiveness and commercial appeal.
Sky Sports, the EFL's domestic rights holder, has approved the expansion but will not increase its £935m five-year deal for the remaining three seasons, despite gaining two additional marquee fixtures. Future TV rights packages could be more valuable, and the format may extend to League One and League Two if successful.
The Premier League had raised concerns that promoting the eighth-placed team could lower top-flight standards, but the Football Association board overruled these objections. Historical data shows a significant points gap between third and eighth: last season, eighth-placed Millwall trailed third-placed Sheffield United by 24 points.
The four-team playoff format had been in place since 1988-89. In the National League's six-team system over the past eight seasons, only Grimsby Town in 2022 have won promotion from outside the top four playoff spots.
