EFL clubs voted on Thursday morning (March 5) to expand the Championship play-offs from four teams to six, starting from next season.
The decision was reached at an extraordinary general meeting. It is being presented as a move to level the playing field against parachute payments and keep more of the table alive late in the season.
Those of us of a more cynical nature may argue that it’s more of an attempt to fix something that wasn’t broken. And is really driven by one thing and one thing only: money.
Follow the money
Sky Sports, the Football League’s primary rights holder, reportedly backed the expansion because of the “drama and jeopardy” it brings, welcoming two extra high-stakes matches to sell to advertisers and subscribers.
The proposal was championed by Preston North End CEO Peter Ridsdale, one of three Championship representatives on the EFL Board, who first raised the idea in September 2025. The justification centres on parachute payments distorting competition, a real problem that this format change does nothing to resolve.
Relegated Premier League clubs will still arrive in the Championship with financial advantages that dwarf their rivals. Letting an eighth-placed team have a shot at Wembley hardly fixes that. It merely papers over it.
The vote required a double majority: at least 37 of the 72 EFL clubs overall, and at least 13 of the 24 Championship clubs. It passed. More matches, more broadcasting, more revenue.
How the new format works
The top two still go up automatically. After that:
- Eliminators (one leg): 5th hosts 8th, 6th hosts 7th.
- Semi-finals (two legs): 3rd and 4th enter here, each facing an ‘eliminator’.
- Final: Wembley. Same as ever.
Third and fourth get a bye to the semi-final stage. The model mirrors the system already used by the National League, where Oldham Athletic won promotion in 2024-25 despite finishing 23 points behind second-placed York.
What it means for Norwich
For City, considering how well acquainted we are with the Championship’s revolving door, eighth place adds a viable route to the Premier League into the mix.
Some will be cool with that and not give two hoots that a team that finished in third could lose out to a team that scraped eighth. It’s the type of jeopardy upon which Sky Sports thrives. It just makes the lottery bigger.
The Premier League has said as much. Top-flight executives are concerned the move could dilute quality, and the evidence backs them up. While Sunderland and, maybe, Leeds, will survive this season, it’s an anomaly. It’s a struggle to get even close to competing. We know it more than most.
David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator, has said relegation is a “near death sentence” for some clubs. If that is the problem, the solution is structural reform of the financial gap between divisions, not adding two extra TV fixtures in May.
The real question
The EFL says this is about fairness and fan engagement. But expanding the play-offs does not redistribute a single pound from parachute payments. It does not close the financial chasm between the Championship and the Premier League.
What it does is generate more content for broadcasters and more matchday revenue for clubs involved in the ‘eliminators’.
That’s what matters, right?
