The English Championship is one of the most competitive leagues in football, with 24 teams battling it out to reach the Premier League every season.
Arguably the most exciting aspect of the Championship season is the playoff stage, where four teams can secure the one remaining promotion spot.
Here, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about the 2025 Championship playoffs, including how to watch, how it works and more.
In English football, the Championship playoffs are a mini-knockout tournament that takes place after the end of the regular season to determine which team takes the final promotion place to the Premier League.
While the top two teams after 46 games automatically earn promotion to the top table of English football, the teams that finish third, fourth, fifth, and sixth all have a chance of joining.
The battle to secure a place in the Championship play-offs is always intense in one of football’s most unpredictable leagues. However, the stakes skyrocket when the play-offs themselves get underway at the season’s conclusion.
These play-offs pit the four teams finishing just below the automatic promotion spots against one another in a high-stakes knockout format. Teams ending the campaign in third through sixth positions qualify to compete for the coveted final promotion spot.
In the semi-finals, the third-placed team faces the sixth, while the fourth-placed side squares off against the fifth. Each tie consists of two legs, with both teams hosting one game apiece. The team with the higher league finish earns the advantage of playing the decisive second leg on home turf.
Winners are determined by the total score across both legs, with no away goals rule in effect. Should the aggregate score remain level after the second leg, the tie proceeds to extra time, and if necessary, penalties will decide the outcome.
The victors of the two semi-finals advance to the play-off final, a one-off clash held at Wembley Stadium. If regulation time ends without a winner, extra time and penalties are used to settle the match. The team that triumphs in the final secures a spot in the Premier League for the following season.
A total of four teams will qualify for the Championship playoffs and we will get a better idea of which clubs are firmly in the mix as the season approaches the last third.
Predicting the quartet that will contest the 2024-25 Championship play-offs is way too early at this stage, but it’s certain that several strong teams will be vying for those coveted spots as the season nears its climax. Naturally, the three sides relegated from the Premier League—Burnley, Sheffield United, and Luton Town—will harbour ambitions of bouncing back to the top flight at the first attempt.
Leeds United, who suffered heartbreak in last season’s play-off final, will be determined to mount a strong push for automatic promotion this time around. Meanwhile, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion, both participants in the 2023-24 play-offs, will aim to make another strong challenge.
Middlesbrough is a team worth keeping an eye on, having shown great promise during the previous campaign. Additionally, Coventry City and Hull City may well find themselves in the thick of the play-off race as May approaches.
Last updated: December 29, 2024.
Sky Sports will broadcast all Championship playoff games on its network, with Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football being the main TV channels. For those who wish to stream the games live online, you can do so with Sky GO.
In the U.S., the 2024-25 EFL Championship playoff games will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network, with the majority of games available on Paramount+, which is currently offering a 7-day free-trial for new users.
The 2025 EFL Championship playoffs are set to take place in May 2025, with the final scheduled for the Bank Holiday weekend from May 24 to May 26, 2025 under the iconic Wembley arc. The playoffs will feature the teams that finish between third and sixth in the Championship standings, competing for a coveted spot in the Premier League.
The semi-finals will occur shortly after the conclusion of the regular season, which ends on May 3, 2025. There will be a short break between the last round of the Championship season and the start of the semi-finals, with no dates yet confirmed. However, the first leg of the semi-final usually takes place approximately a week after the end of the 46-game campaign.
There is no definitive date or kick-off time for the 2025 Championship play-off final yet, but the match will be played between 24-26 May 2025, and it will be played at Wembley Stadium.
Wembley, of course, is an iconic stadium in British sports and for English football in particular. The 90,000-capacity stadium is affectionately known as ‘The Home of Football’ or ‘HQ’ and hosts most national finals, including those of the Football League playoffs.
Southampton emerged victorious in the 2024 Championship playoffs, securing their promotion back to the Premier League with a narrow 1-0 win over Leeds United in the playoff final held at Wembley Stadium on May 26, 2024. Southampton’s Adam Armstrong scored the decisive goal in the first half, marking his 24th league goal of the season and sealing a triumphant return to the top tier of English football.
The Championship playoff final has been dubbed ‘The Richest Game in Football’ due to the financial rewards that accompany victory in the game.
Initially, the promoted team can be said to benefit to the tune of £100 million ($120m) thanks to the distribution of TV money among Premier League clubs, but there are many more attendant revenue boosters.
For example, that money could be doubled if a team avoids relegation in their first season, while all sorts of sponsorship deals come rolling into a team that plays in the Premier League.