A fresh appeal to include additional teams in the Championship playoffs
Similar to the National League’s present system, the English Football League (EFL) is apparently considering a singles matchup between the fifth-place team and the eighth-place team, and the seventh-place team and the sixth-place team at the home field of the better-placed team. Instead of being one-off games, the eliminator winners would then play two-leg matches against the third and fourth-place teams in the EFL plan. The winners would then meet at Wembley to compete for a spot in the Premier League.
Preston CEO Peter Ridsdale presented the plan to other Championship club executives at a meeting last week, and according to The Athletic, it was “very well received” because it would “give more clubs a shot at promotion, add two more high-profile matches to the calendar, and reduce the number of dead-rubber matches at the end of the season.” The League One and League Two promotion play-offs are eager to follow suit, according to the EFL.
Talks to raise the number of clubs promoted from the fifth-tier National League from two to three, as well as the number of teams relegated from League Two to three, have made the Championship a priority. Phil Alexander, the former CEO of Bristol City and Crystal Palace, had previously suggested the idea in 2003, but it had never been accepted. The FA Board must accept changes to tournament structures, and the Premier League has already expressed worries about their competition being less competitive.
Although The Athletic claims to have spoken to a number of Championship club executives on the condition of anonymity and that they all supported the idea, the most recent plan has not advanced very far. The EFL started holding playoffs in 1987 and has done so ever since. With the exception of a seven-year stint in Cardiff, where Norwich played Birmingham in 2002, while Wembley was being renovated, the Championship final has been held at Wembley since 1990, after the first three editions finished in two-leg finals.
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