The Championship play-offs will expand from four teams to six from this season onwards, opening the door to clubs finishing as low as eighth in the table. It’s the biggest structural change to the competition in years, and one that has generated plenty of debate among supporters and clubs alike. Anyone checking Championship betting markets for a surprise promotion push will find considerably more candidates worth a look than in previous seasons.
EFL clubs voted through the change earlier this year, and it marks the first alteration to the play-off format since it was introduced back in 1986-87. Here’s a look at how the new system will work, who stands to gain, and how the football world has reacted to the news.
How the new format will work
The top two teams still gain automatic promotion, but the play-offs now involve the sides finishing third through eighth. Clubs in seventh and eighth face fifth and sixth respectively in single-leg eliminator ties, played at the home of the higher placed side.
The winners then progress to two-legged semi-finals against third and fourth, with the two semi-final winners meeting in the traditional final at Wembley. The format mirrors the six-team system already used in the National League since 2017-18.
A lifeline for mid-table teams
Under the old system, finishing seventh or eighth meant a season effectively over with weeks still to play. Clubs in that bracket now have a genuine route to promotion, which the EFL hopes will keep more fixtures meaningful deep into the campaign.
For those using free bet offers around the closing weeks of the season, that extra jeopardy is likely to make the final run-in considerably harder to call than in previous years.
Lesser-known clubs who could benefit
Clubs that have spent recent seasons settled in the Championship’s midfield, without ever quite pushing into the traditional top six, stand to gain the most from the change. Sides like Preston North End, Watford, Millwall and Stoke City have all shown enough consistency in recent campaigns to be the sort of club capable of sneaking into seventh or eighth and causing an upset in the new eliminator round, even if a top six finish remains out of reach.
A mixed reception from fans and managers
The change has divided opinion. Supporters on social media reacted angrily when the vote passed, with many arguing that a team finishing 15 or 20 points behind third should not have a route to the Premier League, and some pointing out the irony of the National League still lacking a third automatic promotion spot despite lending its format to this change.
Managers have generally been more receptive. Hull City’s Sergej Jakirovic backed the change as good for entertainment, while Birmingham City’s Chris Davies said it opens the league up without doing any harm.
Leicester City’s former manager Gary Rowett struck a more cautious tone, admitting he understood the financial logic even if he wasn’t convinced as a self-described football purist. The Premier League has also expressed some reservations, questioning whether widening the pool of promotion contenders risks weakening the standard of teams that go up.
Whatever the objections, the change is now locked in for this season, and every club finishing in the Championship’s top half will start the run-in with something concrete to play for.
