| Founded | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Region | England Wales |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Current champions | Swansea City (Championship) Peterborough United (League One) Stevenage (League Two) |
| Television broadcasters | Sky Sports |
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is available for one the clubs in the next four positions. To determine this club, a series of play-off matches are held.
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In the Championship, the teams finishing third, fourth, fifth and sixth are entered for the Championship play-offs. The team finishing third plays the team that finished sixth, with the first leg being held at the home of the team that finished sixth and the second leg being held at the home of the team that finished third. This is designed to give the team that finished third an advantage. This is the same for the teams that finished fourth and fifth, with the advantage being with the team that finished fourth. The two winning teams then play each other in the final, with the winning team winning promotion to the Premier League. This makes it the most lucrative single game in world football.[1] The format is the same in League One, but in League Two and the Conference there are differences. In League Two three teams are automatically promoted, so the teams that finished fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh enter into the play-offs.
A change to the format of the play-offs was proposed by Crystal Palace chief executive Phil Alexander in 2003. Alexander recommended expanding the number of teams in each play-off series from four to six, providing more clubs with a chance at promotion. Additionally, the two-legged semi-finals would have been replaced by one-off quarter-final and semi-final games, both of which would give home advantage to the team that finished higher during the league season. The two highest placed clubs in the play-off series would advance directly to the semi-final, while the other four clubs would contest the quarter-final.[2] The proposed changes were narrowly approved by Football League chairmen and were set to be voted upon at the league's annual general meeting.[3] The motion was withdrawn however, due to objections received from the Premier League and the Football Association.[4]
Before 1990 the playoff finals were played over two legs home and away, like the semifinals of the Football League Cup. If after two legs the scores were still tied, a tie-breaker was played at a neutral venue. This was only used in three occasions: the 1987 Second Division tie-breaker final was played at Birmingham City's St. Andrews; the 1987 Third Division final was played at Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park; and the 1988 Third Division final was played at Walsall's Fellows Park (though this was not strictly a neutral venue, as Walsall was one of the clubs involved in the finals).
From 1990 to 2000, the finals were played at the old Wembley Stadium, but between 2001 and 2006, they were held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, due to the re-building work at Wembley. The finals returned to the newly-rebuilt Wembley Stadium after it was completed in 2007.
For 2011, the League One and League Two play-off finals were held at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, because the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final would be taking place at Wembley on 28 May. The Conference finals were similarly rescheduled to be played at City of Manchester Stadium, home of Manchester City.
The play-offs have been a Football League feature since 1986–87, but the Football Conference did not adopt them until 2002–03. In the Conference only one team is automatically promoted, so the teams that finished second, third, fourth and fifth are entered into the play-offs. The final of the Conference play-off was usually held at one of the Championship's bigger grounds, such as Stoke City's Britannia Stadium. However, beginning in 2007, Conference finals were played at Wembley (except for the 2011 final at Manchester City, above).
In recent years most leagues in the National League System, well below the professional levels, have adopted the play-off system for promotions of additional teams to the champions, although requirements are stricter depending on the league and only the champions of each level/division may be promoted automatically.