Fighting relegation & eyeing promotion? Championship set for six-team play-offs

What the report says

BBC Sport Football reports that the Championship will expand its promotion play-offs to six teams from the 2026-27 season, adding seventh and eighth place to the post-season race. Under the new format, the teams finishing third and fourth will still go straight to the semi-finals, while fifth will host eighth and sixth will host seventh in single-leg quarter-finals. The semi-finals remain two-legged and the final will still be held at Wembley in late May. The English Football League says the change is intended to keep more clubs competitive for longer and reduce the number of late-season dead rubbers.

The article notes that the financial stakes are significant, with promotion to the Premier League worth an estimated £150m. It also points out that, under previous rules, clubs such as Derby County, Millwall, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers finished eighth in recent seasons and missed out. BBC Sport adds that if the new system had already been in place, more teams would have had a chance to reach the play-offs in recent campaigns.

Reaction is mixed. Some managers and former players quoted by BBC Sport welcome the greater number of hopefuls and the added tension, while others question whether teams finishing lower in the table deserve the same chance as higher-placed sides. Nigel Clough, John Mousinho, Rhian Brewster, Kyle Walker and Tony Mowbray are among those mentioned. The debate matters because the change could alter tactics, recruitment and the competitive balance of English football’s second tier, and it may influence future expansion discussions in League One and League Two as well.