EFL Play-Off Finals Set for May Bank Holiday Weekend
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- The EFL confirmed the Championship play-off final will be held on Saturday 23 May, with League One on Sunday 24 May and League Two on Monday 25 May, all at Wembley.
- The 2025-26 season is the final campaign in which the Championship play-offs will be contested solely by teams finishing 3rd to 6th in the traditional double-headed semi-final format.
- From 2026-27, the Championship play-offs will be overhauled: 8th and 7th will play one-off games at the homes of 5th and 6th, with winners then facing 3rd and 4th across two legs.
- The EFL confirmed there are currently no plans to expand the play-off format in League One or League Two.
- Semi-final first legs run from Friday 8 May through Sunday 10 May, with second legs scheduled between Monday 11 May and Friday 15 May, following the regular season's conclusion on Saturday 2 May.
- The 2025-26 play-offs mark the 40th season of EFL play-offs, which were first introduced for the 1986-87 campaign.
Why it matters: This is the last run of the familiar Championship play-off format clubs have known for decades — from next season, lower-finishing teams (7th and 8th) get a one-off knockout shot, fundamentally changing the incentive structure for mid-table sides with nothing to play for in the final weeks of the season.
