EFL clubs to vote on Championship play-offs expansion this week
· Yahoo Sports
English Football League clubs are set to cast a crucial vote on Thursday concerning a significant expansion of the Championship play-offs for the upcoming season.
The proposal aims to increase the number of participating teams from four to six, mirroring the National League's model.
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Should the motion pass, the top two teams in England's second tier would still secure automatic promotion, but the play-off spots would extend to those finishing between third and eighth.
This would be a departure from the current system, which involves only teams placed third to sixth.
The vote, scheduled for late Thursday morning, requires a majority from all EFL clubs, alongside a separate majority among Championship clubs, to be carried.
Oldham got promoted via the National League play-offs last year (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)Thursday's decision, it is understood, will focus solely on the principle of expanding the play-offs, with the precise format to be determined at a later stage, potentially during the league's annual general meeting this summer.
The National League's six-team format sees clubs finishing fourth and seventh, and fifth and sixth, face off in single-leg eliminators.
The winners then progress to join the second and third-placed teams in the semi-finals.
Last season, Oldham Athletic notably triumphed in the National League play-offs despite finishing 23 points adrift of second-placed York, a result that intensified discussions around the limited two promotion spots from the fifth tier to League Two.
While a debate concerning a potential increase of National League promotions to three teams is anticipated, no vote on this matter will take place this week.
Such a decision would necessitate the prior distribution of full briefing papers and voting slips.
The two-day all-club meeting, which commenced on Wednesday, also includes addresses from David Kogan and Richard Monks, the chair and chief executive of the Independent Football Regulator.
Kogan recently called for a new financial settlement to be agreed between the Premier League and EFL amid fears that relegation is a “near death sentence” for some clubs.