League One proposal submitted to expand promotion play-offs after Championship decision

League One representatives have put forward a proposal to expand the current promotion play-off bracket.

League One officials are looking to follow the recent decision of the Championship to expand the promotion play-off spots by two places.

A detailed view of the Sky Bet EFL League One Play-Off trophy, handled prior to the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final match between Bolton Wanderers and Oxford United at Wembley Stadium on May 18, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

placeholder image — A detailed view of the Sky Bet EFL League One Play-Off trophy, handled prior to the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final match between Bolton Wanderers and Oxford United at Wembley Stadium on May 18, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

This season, England’s second tier will see their play-offs include six clubs rather than four – meaning the top eight finishers will be in contention to move up to the Premier League.

EFL clubs voted in March to expand the play-offs and the change comes into play for the 2026/27 season onwards.

Now, League One is looking to adopt the same model in order to ‘increase interest and opportunity’. League representatives have ‘put forward the proposal’, with a decision expected to be made in due course, according to the Mail.

Last season, Bolton Wanderers beat Stockport County in the final to go up, while Bradford City and Stevenage were knocked out in the semi.

The fight for sixth-place went right down to the wire, with Stevenage finishing on 75 points to scrape into the play-offs, while Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle missed out with 74 and 73 respectively.

How will a new League One play-off system look?

If League One does introduce the same new play-off format as the Championship, clubs will be competing for a place in the top eight, rather than the top six for a shot at promotion.

The winning and second-placed teams will still automatically go up, leaving third through to eighth to compete in the play-offs.

This season, the Championship will adopt two eliminator ties ahead of the official play-offs. The clubs who finish third and fourth will automatically progress to separate semi-finals, leaving the teams placed fifth to eighth to battle it out in a one-legged quarter-final.

After the eliminators (fifth vs eighth and sixth vs seventh), the winners of each quarter-final will face the clubs in third and fourth in the semis across two legs as usual, before the final at Wembley.

The club in third-place during the season will face the lowest-ranked team to come through the eliminators.

The current League One representatives on the EFL board are Barnsley’s Neerav Parekh and Darragh MacAnthony of Peterborough United.