The EFL Championship set to expand playoffs to six teams in controversial move
Danny Jones
The English Football League (EFL) has confirmed that it will be expanding the Championship playoffs to six teams moving forward.
In one of the biggest changes, not just to the second tier but the domestic football pyramid in some time, it’s so far divided opinion – and that’s putting it mildly.
Starting from next season, the Championship will see half a dozen compete in its final knockout phase, meaning that the conclusion to the 2026/27 campaign has the potential to be even tastier than ever.
Besides the increased competition this will bring to the division itself, in turn, it could also help further mix things up in the Premier League too.
Revealing the watershed news on Thursday, 5 March, the EFL shared the update online, which has certainly left fans split over the decision.
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Well, in truth, it seems the majority have been left shocked and angered by the announcement, with many responding with comments like, “Who asked for this?” and “Final nail in the coffin”, as well as citing “money” and “nothing but greed” as the main drivers for the changes.
EFL clubs obviously voted for the big shake-up as the added chance of fighting their way into the top flight will no doubt benefit them financially.
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It remains to be seen whether this could signal similar adjustments made further down the ranks.
However, as many replied under the posts on social media, one key fear is that a team finishing in 8th – the new threshold for making it into the playoff stages – will be “slaughtered in the Prem” and that, if anything, it will highlight and/or widen the gap between the two leagues even more.
Most simply said that the current system is just “fine as it is” and “if ain’t broke don’t fix it”, but it looks like the wheels are already well and truly in motion.
Ruining the game. Finish 6th and have a chance to get promoted. People in charge are needing rid off. Every part of English football has out of touch people in charge coming up with awful ideas to keep their pay and clubs just go along with it. Tweet from 1987
Pure greed. Ultimately downgrades the look of the championship too when a team will inevitably finish 8th, probably a good 15-20 points behind autos and go up. Then get the lowest Premier League points ever
Safe to say that this is just a small taste of the overall reactions and almost universal consensus…
As detailed in the official statement by the EFL, Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, said: “Since their introduction in 1986/87, the Play-Offs have become a highlight of the domestic football calendar, capturing the drama, suspense and jeopardy that make the EFL so special.
“Following several months of discussion with Clubs and other stakeholders, we are confident this change will further strengthen the Championship as a competition and give more Clubs and their supporters a genuine opportunity of achieving promotion.”
They also clarified that “the exact final format will be agreed later in 2026.”
Are you a fan of a Championship club? Even if not, what do you make of the impending and controversial changes kicking off this year?
It’s mad how the EFL can sort a vote to increase the promotion opportunities for Championship clubs to the PL – yet still nothing on a second automatic place from the National League to L2.
No club promoted from the NL to L2 has ever come straight back down… https://t.co/tXy7aSOZ3l
TfGM unveils ‘significant’ programme of Metrolink engineering works to run throughout 2026
Emily Sergeant
A ‘significant’ programme of works are set to be carried out across Greater Manchester’s tram network this year.
As part of a wider £150m plan to ‘maintain, upgrade, and improve’ tram infrastructure across the region and make sure the Bee Network continues to deliver reliable and accessible services for millions more people into the future, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has announced that it’ll be undertaking various works throughout 2026.
And just as you’d expect, there is expected to be some ‘temporary periods of disruption’ for passengers while they are carried out.
Work is set to begin from this spring through to the autumn at a number of locations across the Greater Manchester network – including near Trafford Bar, Deansgate-Castlefield, Monsall, Newton Heath & Moston, Eccles, Derker and Piccadilly Gardens.
This does mean trams will have to stop on some lines while the work is done, but TfGM will reveal more information on this in due course, and promises ‘plenty of notice’ too, so keep your eyes peeled.
A ‘significant’ programme of Metrolink engineering works are set to run throughout 2026 / Credit: TfGM
The first major works will take place during the Easter Weekend at Trafford Bar and Deansgate-Castlefield, which are ‘preparatory works’ ahead of full track replacement later in the year, set to be carried out over four days from 3 to 6 April.
During this closure, rail replacement work will also take place on the Altrincham line, meaning there will be no trams on the Altrincham, Eccles, and Trafford Park lines all weekend, while the East Didsbury and Manchester Airport lines will run to Firswood only.
Aside from plans for engineering works, there will also be somewhat reduced services for a different reason for a large chunk of the year.
From Monday 30 March until autumn, a revised timetable will be introduced across the tram network while a significant recruitment drive gets underway to ‘take on and train up’ new tram drivers in a bid to build extra capacity and resilience in the workforce.
TfGM has indicated that some disruption will be caused for passengers / Credit: Janus Boye
During this time though, TfGM promises there will still be ‘reliable and frequent’ tram services running every 15 minutes and every 7.5 minutes at the busiest times on the most popular lines.
“Keeping our network safe, reliable, and ready for the future is our absolute priority,” explained Ian Davies, who is the Network Director for Metrolink at TfGM.
“This year’s programme is one of the most significant we’ve ever undertaken and will strengthen the whole network. Whilst we complete this work, we will introduce a temporary timetable change that will run between spring and autumn.
“We know that some of this work will mean temporary disruption, and I want to thank passengers for their patience while we get it done.
“But by investing now, we can reduce faults, improve day to day reliability and make sure Metrolink can keep pace with the growing number of people who depend on it every day now and for the future.”
You can find everything you need to know about this year’s tram improvement works on TfGM’s dedicated page here.
The Manc -
15th January 2021 
