The Championship playoffs will expand to six teams from next season after the change was approved by EFL clubs on Thursday. The Guardian revealed last month that a proposal to add a quarter-final stage to the playoffs had been recommended by the EFL board, and the clubs gave their assent in a vote at an extraordinary general meeting held at the Belfry.
The format will add an eliminator round to the Championship playoffs in a set-up similar to that used by the National League. The fifth-placed team will play eighth and sixth will play seventh, at the higher-ranked club’s ground, in a one-off tie to determine progression to the two-leg playoff semi-finals, against the clubs that finished third and fourth.