The 2026/27 season of the English Championship has arrived, bringing with it a landmark alteration to the promotion play‑offs. In March, the clubs that make up the English Football League (EFL) voted to enlarge the play‑off pool from four to six teams starting with this campaign – the first modification to the second‑tier’s post‑season format since 1990, when the final was moved to Wembley and converted from a two‑legged affair to a single showdown. This season’s play‑off structure mirrors the system already used in the National League, inserting an extra round of eliminator matches before the traditional semi‑finals.
Below is a comprehensive guide to the new layout. Firstly, nothing changes for the automatic promotion places: the clubs that finish first and second in the Championship still ascend directly to the Premier League.
The play‑offs now accommodate six teams, drawn from league positions three through eight. The teams finishing third and fourth retain a distinct advantage – they bypass the opening eliminator round and advance straight to the semi‑final stage. The opening phase consists of two single‑leg eliminator fixtures: the fifth‑placed side hosts the eighth‑placed side, while the sixth‑placed side hosts the seventh‑placed side. These matches are decided in one game, with the higher‑ranked club enjoying home‑field advantage.
The winners of those two eliminators move on to face the third‑ and fourth‑placed clubs in two‑legged semi‑finals. The second leg of each semi‑final is played at the ground of the team that finished higher in the regular season standings.
Crucially, the third‑placed team is paired with the lowest‑ranked survivor from the eliminators. For example, if the eighth‑placed side upsets the fifth‑placed club and the sixth‑placed side defeats the seventh‑placed team, the semi‑final match‑ups will be third versus eighth and fourth versus sixth. There is no predetermined bracket; the pairings are determined after the eliminator results are known. The victors of the two semi‑final ties then meet at Wembley Stadium for the ultimate play‑off final, with the winner securing the third promotion slot to the Premier League.
Exact dates for the play‑off fixtures have yet to be announced, but they are expected to take place in May as usual. The regular season concludes on Saturday 1 May for the Championship (kick‑off 12:30 pm), with League One wrapping up on Saturday 8 May at 12:30 pm and League Two finishing the same day at 3:00 pm. Sky Sports EFL editor Simeon Gholam offered his perspective on the change: "While it remains theoretically possible for an eighth‑placed side to climb all the way to the Premier League, the odds are comparable to those faced by a sixth‑placed team – and both scenarios are rare. Hull City were only the third club in the Championship era to achieve promotion from eighth place, and the gap between them and the teams they edged out on the final day – Wrexham and Derby – was minimal.
"Debates continue about whether an eighth‑placed team could be competitive at the top level, but Sunderland’s recent experience shows that performance after promotion is what truly matters. "This overhaul is significant, but I appreciate that it rewards finishing third or fourth with a genuine competitive edge – bypassing the eliminator round altogether rather than merely gaining a home leg in the semi‑finals." The 2026/27 EFL calendar kicks off this weekend, with the opening Championship fixture featuring Wolverhampton Wanderers against Blackburn Rovers on Friday night.
Throughout the opening weekend, every Championship, League One and League Two match will be broadcast live on Sky, contributing to a slate of more than 1,000 live games covering the EFL, Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy across Sky Sports. Fans can also access free highlights via the Sky Sports app after each round of matches, and enjoy in‑depth analysis and debate through the Essential EFL podcast and The EFL Show on Sky Sports News, a new weekly slot airing every Monday at 2 pm.