Football League Championship Play-offs - Format

Format

In addition to the branding changes which affected English football in 1992 and 2004, the Championship play-offs have also changed in format.

When they were introduced for the 1986–87 season, the play-offs originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987–88, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.

Since 1989–90, the final has been a single game (contested between the winners of the semi-finals, which remain two-legged) has been held either at Wembley or the Millennium Stadium, apart from 1987, when Charlton Athletic and Leeds United could not be separated over two legs and took the tie to a third match at St. Andrews, Birmingham.

Birmingham City have reached the Championship Play-Offs four times consecutively from 1999-2002, losing the first three attempts before, in 2002, reaching the Play-Off Final at the Millenium Stadium, finally winning promotion to the Premier League after extra time and then penalties.

Preston North End have appeared in the Play Offs across all three divisions of the Football League the most times since their inception, and also have the worst record having not been promoted via the method in 8 appearances.

Blackpool are the only team to have won more than three play off finals and are also the only team to have won promotion via the play offs on four separate occasions, once to the Premiership, once to the Championship and twice to what is now known as League One.

Peterborough United and Cheltenham Town are the only teams to have played in more than one play off competition and have a 100% success rate, Peterborough with three wins (two into the championship and one into league one) have the best play offs record and Cheltenham have two wins from league two play offs.

The other teams with 100% records (one win from one appearance) are Aldershot (the original club liquidated in 1992), Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers and Dagenham and Redbridge.

Reading, Preston North End, Bristol City, Sheffield United and Leeds United have the unenviable record of losing 3 play off finals each. None of these teams have ever won promotion via the play offs despite a combined 27 appearances.

Nottingham Forest and MK Dons have each had four play off appearances and have never progressed beyond the semi finals. By contrast, Gillingham have four finals from four attempts, winning twice.

In 2008 Hull City won £60,000,000 for winning the play-offs.