Sixty nine of the EFL’s 72 clubs voted in favour of the proposed changes
Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic is in favour of the play-off changes(Image: John Walton/PA Wire)
Hull City were one of the 69 clubs that voted through changes to the Championship play-off structure, which will come into force from the start of next season, with two clubs abstaining and one rejecting.
From the start of the 2026/27 Championship campaign, the play-offs will be expanded to include the two teams that finish seventh and eighth.
In a similar setup to what’s been operating in the National League for a period of time, there will effectively be play-off quarter-finals for the teams that finish fifth to eighth, with those winners going into the semi-finals, where they’ll meet the teams that finished third and fourth. From those two semi-finals, there will be the two sides that go on and play for a place in the Premier League at Wembley in football’s richest game.
Had the new changes been in effect two years ago, City would have been included after Liam Rosenior’s side narrowly missed out on the top six, but finished seventh.
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City boss Sergej Jakirovic, who has guided the Tigers to fifth in the Championship after 35 games of an impressive campaign so far, said he was in favour of the changes, which are expected to create more jeopardy and increase excitement in the final weeks of the season by offering more teams a shot at possible promotion.
“It gives a bigger chance to more and more clubs to get play-offs, to maybe get promotion,” he told Hull Live. “Entertainment for everyone.
“Eight clubs can reach the play-offs, so it will be like this season, where it’s six. Everything will be open till the end of the season; it’s very, very tight.
“I think it’s a good idea. Maybe I have it wrong, I don’t know. We will see what will happen in the future, but, OK, you can say maybe the eighth position club could take 20 points less than third, and we are in the same position, but this is football, everything for entertainment, because it’s entertaining for the public, for the crowd, for the fans, for everyone.”
How do you feel about the changes to the play-off system first introduced in the 1986/87 campaign? Have your say in the comments below…
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