Here’s what you should know about the 2025/26 EFL Championship.

Charlton Athletic has returned to the Championship, making it three London clubs in the second tier. Charlton secured their return to League One by defeating Leyton Orient on Sunday at Wembley Stadium, despite already having two London teams in the play-off final.

Addicks fans will be looking forward to the new season, and Millwall and QPR fans will soon miss going to stadiums across the country on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Looking ahead to the next season, we’ve compiled a list of key dates that Championship fans should mark on their calendars.

 

When does the 2025/26 EFL Championship season begin?

The 2025/26 Championship season will kick off over the weekend of August 8-10. The first game will be played on August 8. For context, League One and League Two will start one week earlier.

 

There will be 46 rounds of fixtures as usual, with the schedule for next season consisting of 33 weekends, nine mid-week fixture rounds, and four bank holiday rounds.

When is the 2025/26 EFL Championship fixture release date?

 

The EFL will soon release the new season’s fixtures, allowing clubs to quickly determine their game schedule. The EFL will release fixtures for all three leagues on Thursday, June 26, at 12:00pm.

Which teams will compete in the 2025/26 English Football League Championship?

The championship teams for the 2025/26 season are listed below:

 

The clubs include Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Bristol City, Charlton Athletic, Coventry City, Derby County, Hull City, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Norwich City, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Preston North End, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Stoke City, Swansea City, Watford, West Bromwich Albion and Wrexham.

What Nathan Jones said after Charlton got promoted

After Charlton Athletic’s win over Leyton Orient in the play-off final, Nathan Jones expressed his pride, delight, and euphoria. It wasn’t fluid in any way, but we were unbelievable defensively, as we have been all season. That’s given us the victory today.

“It means a lot. They see the work we do, the passion we show, and the fact that we improve players and work hard—all of which you want to see from someone who works for your club, business, or organisation. We’ve been in top-two form since Christmas, grinding out results when necessary, and we’ve been fortunate to be in this position and take advantage of the opportunity.

“We were under pressure in the second half, and they were throwing everything at it to get that equaliser. That’s [clean sheet] one of the main reasons we’re here; we’re overjoyed.”

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