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Whether your team is involved or not, everyone loves the drama of a Championship play-off game. But, the whole format may be about to change.
There are many who would argue that the Championship is one of the best leagues in the world. It’s incredibly exciting, highly competitive, and full of passion.
Come the end of each season, fans also have the Championship play-offs to sink their teeth into, which can be a lot of fun or a lot of stress and misery, depending on who you support.
With so much money at stake in the Championship play-offs (the winners get over £200m in prize money and added bonuses), it’s understandable that the EFL would want to get the process absolutely right. But, is changing everything the way to go?
Championship play-offs may increase to six teams
As per a report from The Athletic, it’s said the Championship is looking to shake things up by extending the play-offs to six teams instead of four.
In doing so, an eliminator round would be introduced similar to the National League, where single-leg ties would be played between teams finishing in fifth and eighth, and sixth and seventh. Teams finishing third and fourth would await the winners.
We would then have two-leg semi-final ties before moving on to the big Wembley showcase as normal.
Preston North End chief executive Peter Ridsdale is the man responsible for delivering this idea to his peers and it’s said there has been “wide initial support” from clubs in the second tier.
There is a hope that such a change would make the league more competitive for longer by increasing the opportunities for other teams to chase promotion.
However, the Premier League is not keen on the idea, and FA approval is still needed.
This is an idea that has been put forward several times, unsuccessfully, in the past by former Crystal Palace and Bristol City chief executive Phil Alexander. He is now interim CEO of the National League, which figures given the call for changes to the promotion format in the fifth tier.
It is thought that these changes would eventually be implemented into League One and League Two, and would allow for more teams to be promoted from the National League, too.
The report concludes by suggesting that, if the EFL agrees to move forward and can get Premier League support, the changes could be in place for the Championship play-off games in 2026/27.
The pros and cons of Championship play-off changes
It’s a tough one to consider this, as we obviously know the Championship play-off format is great as it is and more often than not, we get really exciting games at the end of a season.
There’s also the fact that last term, until the final day, we had about eight different teams all fighting for those four spots. Would opening up more space in the play-offs mean we get even more of that, and thus an even more entertaining run-in at the end of a campaign? Perhaps.
But, there is also the concern that a team finishing in seventh or eighth could realistically be almost 30 points behind those in third (Blackburn Rovers and Millwall ended up 24 points behind Sheffield United last season).
Is it really fair to give a team that far away from the top spots a chance to get promoted? Neutrals will say have at it, what’s the harm in letting more teams chase promotion? Those with a vested interest will claim it’s giving out unjust rewards to teams who are simply not good enough, and that making teams in third and fourth wait for their play-off game will kill their momentum.
At the end of the day, the best Championship play-off final games are the ones that deliver shocks and surprises. So, maybe letting the underdogs have even more chances is a good thing for the overall game?