Last week CAST reported that clubs would be voting at an EFL meeting on a change to the Championship play-off format from next season adding two more teams, down to eighth in the table at the end of the league season.

The EFL have announced today that the changes will go ahead.

https://www.efl.com/news/2026/march/05/efl-statement--sky-bet-championship-play-off-format/

• The Play-Offs in the Championship will consist of seven fixtures
• The two winners of the eliminator ties will progress to the semi-finals (against the teams finishing 3^rd and 4^th in the table). These games will be played over two legs.
• The two winning semi-finalists will meet in the Championship Play-Off final.
• The exact final format will be agreed later in 2026.

We asked you (before the EFL vote) what you thought about this proposal so that we could ensure that the club knew the views of its fans before casting its vote. Nearly 80% were against the change.

The new proposal, according to The Athletic, would mean the team that finishes fifth plays the eighth-placed team and sixth meets seventh in one-off ties at the home ground of the higher finishing club. The winners would then progress to a two-legged semi-final tie against the teams who finished in third and fourth, before the final at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.

Of the 730 respondents to CAST’s recent online survey, 78% disagreed (58% strongly) with the idea of expanding the Championship play-offs from four teams (finishing third to sixth) to six teams (finishing third to eighth).

Only 19% agreed with the proposal, while 3% were unsure. The survey achieved a robust number of responses from both members and non-members of CAST. Non-members of CAST were particularly likely to strongly disagree with the proposed change at 65% v 58% overall.

We are sharing these results with the club ahead of an EFL meeting this week when we understand that clubs will vote on whether or not to adopt the change. We urge Charlton to take the strong and clear views of our fans into account when deciding how to proceed.

Don’t fix what isn’t broken

A large majority of fans simply do not understand why there is a perceived need for change, with 85% agreeing (53% strongly) that the current play-off system isn’t broken so there is no reason to change it. Addicks are particularly concerned that such a change would undermine the integrity of the league. 82% of all respondents agree (58% strongly) that it undermines the league competition if teams finishing 7^th/ 8^th have the chance of promotion, while 90% agree (58% strongly) that there is too big a gap between 8^th in the Championship and the Premier League.

Financial implications

64% agree (23% strongly) that such a change would encourage clubs to gamble financially and recklessly on promotion. 88% agree (41% strongly) that parachute payments will still bias the competition. 51% agree that it would mean more midweek games in the league, while 30% don’t know. Given that average attendances at The Valley for midweek games are significantly below weekend kick-offs, this could be financially adverse for the club.

Does it make it more likely we get promoted?

Looking closer to home, 50% disagree that it will help Charlton to get promoted sooner rather than later, with 22% unsure and only 28% agreeing. Opinion is more divided (43% agree, 50% disagree) on whether the changes would increase excitement as there would be more to play for towards the end of the season. Despite the Addicks' superb record in play-off finals, 73% disagree that play-offs are great so the more, the merrier.

Any skews in the opinions?

Those disagreeing with the change were more likely to have attended last season’s Wembley Play-off Final v Leyton Orient (85% v 77% of those agreeing) and are more likely to be regular and occasional home match goers (87% v 76%). There is less significant difference in regular and occasional away match attendance (52% of those disagreeing v 49% of those agreeing).

In terms of age of respondents, perhaps surprisingly younger fans are generally more strongly in favour of the status quo - a little over-represented in the under 44 and 65-74 age ranges - while those in favour of the change are a little skewed to the 45-64 and 75+ age ranges.

There is no obligation on clubs to consult with fans ahead of such a vote on the structure of the EFL competition. Nevertheless, we hope that Charlton will take the strength of feeling here into account when deciding their position. We’ll all be watching this space.

Here are some of the direct comments on the proposals from fans

"I think the current system fairly rewards a quarter of the league's best teams. If you can't be in the best six teams over the course of the season, then I don't think you deserve the chance for promotion."

"More expense for fans as more games to attend. It's too much"

"This is a bad idea. Promotion should be based on merit and finishing 8th is not in accordance with that. Far better to build a strong team worthy of promotion that is earned. This is simply football yet again succumbing to money"

"Teams finishing highest will have a longer wait before playing games. Maybe fresh, but not match sharp. Those that have won matches in the previous play off rounds may be in a roll, and really coming together as a team."

"Should include the premier league team finishing 3rd bottom"

"This just plays into the hands of the established Premier League teams as getting promoted from 8th you would stand little or no chance of staying up"

"Absolutely ridiculous that a team finishing eighth, potentially 20 or 30 points behind third, would be given a chance to leapfrog five other teams"

"It will benefit the stronger squads (teams with parachute payments) and make it more difficult for small teams and teams making the step up from League One."

"Well done for asking for fans views in this but I'd be shocked if any weight is given to them. EFL will do what Sky tells them to do."

"I just don't see how any anyone can say with a straight face that a team finishing outside of the top quarter is worthy of promotion."

"After a 46 match season, the play-offs even now extend the season for tired players and staff for a long time, and this means that the eventual third team promoted is way behind in getting new players for the new season, as are the other 3 teams not promoted. This would extend this to those teams placed 7th and 8th as well, if these proposals are passed!"

"This is all about money. No thought at all to the travelling fans. Also, there is the issue of player welfare and injuries. With the pace of the game being much quicker there is more chance of burnout and serious injuries."

"It’s one extra game for the team that finish fifth and sixth, let’s keep it in perspective, only one game. For fans it will increase the number of clubs in the play off hunt until the end of the season, this is a good thing for fans. The gulf in quality from the championship to the premier league is so huge anyway that I’m not sure it makes any difference whether it is a club finishing sixth or seventh who goes on to get promoted, that argument is weak."

"It's mostly about more money for clubs and TV. The players are already being overused compared to European leagues. It's long term damage to players but more money for TV and Clubs - with no guarantee that players will benefit."