The end of season Championship play-offs provide four teams with the opportunity to be promoted to the Premier League at Wembley Stadium.
Here is everything you need to know about the 'richest game in football' - the Championship play-offs and the race for promotion to the Premier League.
Championship Play-Offs 2025/26 dates
The Championship play-off final is scheduled to take place on Saturday 23rd May 2026.
Both two-legged semi-finals will be played across four days from Friday 8th May.
Play-off semi-final first legs
- Hull City vs Millwall - Friday 8th May (8pm)
- Middlesbrough vs Southampton - Saturday 9th May (12:30pm)
Play-off semi-final second legs
- Millwall vs Hull City - Monday 11th May (8pm)
- Southampton vs Middlesbrough - Tuesday 12th May (8pm)
Format
The Championship play-offs are played using a simple knockout format. The teams are seeded based on finishing positions in the league, with third playing sixth and fourth playing fifth in the semi-finals.
The two higher-placed teams in the semi-final pairings will play at home in the second legs.
A simple aggregate score of the two matches decides which teams progress.
The away-goals rule does not apply and if the scores are level after the second leg, extra-time and penalties will be played until a winner is found.
The Championship play-off final will also be decided on the day, with extra-time and penalties if required.
Championship Play-Offs history
There were some wildly entertaining matches in Championship play-off finals soon after the showpiece match moved to Wembley Stadium in the 1990s.
Some notable games were Swindon's 4-3 win over Leicester in 1993, Bolton beating Reading by the same score after extra-time two years later and an epic clash between Charlton and Sunderland in 1998, which the Addicks won on penalties after extra-time ended with the score at 4-4.
The finals between 2001 and 2006 were played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was rebuilt.
None of the last 13 finals have produced more than three goals and both teams have scored in only four of the last 14.
While 2024 play-off winners Southampton were relegated to the Championship, four of the previous five Wembley winners - Aston Villa, Fulham, Brentford, Nottingham Forest, and Sunderland - remain in the top flight.
Championship Play-Offs previous winners
2025 | Sunderland 2-1 Sheffield United |
2024 | Southampton 1-0 Leeds United |
2023 | Luton Town 1-1 Coventry City (6-5 pens) |
2022 | Nottingham Forest 1-0 Huddersfield Town |
2021 | Brentford 2-0 Swansea City |
