‘Leave it alone’ – EFL clubs to decide on major change to Championship play-offs that could ruin its magic

Gabby Agbonlahor and Ally McCoist have protested against increasing the number of play-off spots in the Championship.

As of now, teams who finish third to sixth in the second tier battle for promotion to the Premier League with two semi-final matches.

Getty

The winners of each then contest a final at Wembley Stadium to join first and second in the top flight for the following season.

However, as reported by The Guardian, clubs in the EFL will vote on expanding the Championship play-offs to six teams next month.

All 72 teams are said to have been invited to a meeting on March 5 to vote on the new format, which will be introduced from next season.

Should there be at least 37 and 13 votes in favour from the 72 clubs, including 24 Championship sides, the change will be approved.

Fifth would face eighth and sixth would meet seventh in a one-off match at the higher-ranked club’s ground to decide the semi-finals.

They would come up against the clubs who finished third and fourth over two legs, with the winners reaching the final.

However, when discussing the proposal on talkSPORT Breakfast, both Agbonlahor and McCoist were in opposition.

“It’s fine as it is, to be honest,” Agbonlahor said.

“I don’t mind changing football in certain ways like time-wasting, and this and that, no problem. But stop now.”

McCoist added: “I’m with Gabby, it’s madness.

Getty

“You can make an argument that a team could finish third on 70 points, and the team that’s sixth on 50 go up and things like that.

“They’re just trying to earn more money, leave it alone. We’ve got enough jeopardy, we love the play-offs, we absolutely love them.

“But, we love them the way they are.”

Who could go up this season?

The Championship play-offs are one of the most exciting parts of the English football calendar.

Promotion to the Premier League delivers huge financial rewards and the opportunity to play against the best teams in the country.

As things stand, Middlesbrough will win the Championship title and be joined by runners-up Coventry City.

Getty

The four teams who enter the play-offs will be Ipswich Town, Hull City, Millwall and Wrexham.

Ipswich would face Wrexham in one semi-final, whilst Hull and Millwall clash in the other for a spot in the final.

One of these teams would then join Middlesbrough and Coventry as the three promoted sides for the 2026/27 Premier League season.