EFL Clubs to Vote on Expanding Championship Play-Offs to Six Teams in Major Format Shake-Up

English Football League clubs are preparing to vote on a proposal to expand the Championship play-offs from four teams to six.

The decision will be made at an extraordinary general meeting on 5 March, following months of consultation between the EFL, its 72 member clubs and the Football Association. Approval from the FA Board has already been secured as part of the process.

For the vote to pass it will  require only a simple majority to pass rather than the usual two-thirds majority. That means at least 13 Championship clubs and 37 clubs across the EFL overall must back the motion for it to be implemented.

Under the proposed structure, an additional eliminator round would be introduced, mirroring the National League play-off format. Teams finishing fifth would face eighth, while sixth would host seventh in single-leg ties. The winners would then advance to two-legged semi-finals against the third and fourth-placed teams, before the traditional Wembley final to decide promotion to the Premier League.

Supporters of the change argue it would keep more teams competitive deeper into the season, reduce the number of low-stakes fixtures in the closing weeks, and add two high-profile matches to the calendar.

The concept was presented to Championship executives in September by Preston North End chief executive Peter Ridsdale and is understood to have received broad initial backing.

Play-offs were first introduced across the EFL in 1987, and expansion has been debated on multiple occasions. Former Crystal Palace and Bristol City chief executive Phil Alexander, now CEO of the National League, previously pushed for similar reforms as far back as 2003, though without success.