The game that is routinely branded the most lucrative in football is approaching again as the 2024/25 EFL Championship season draws to a thrilling close.
After Leeds United and Burnley comfortably secured automatic promotion to the Premier League, one team will join them through the Championship play-off final.
Whoever wins the game will hope to fare better than last year’s victors, Southampton, who suffered an early relegation from the top flight and rarely looked capable of challenging to stay up.
101GreatGoals explains when the Championship play-off final is, where it will take place and how the EFL play-offs are organised.
When is the Championship playoff final 2025?
This season’s Championship play-off final will take place on Saturday May 24 2025, giving the winners less than three months to prepare for the new Premier League campaign, which starts on the weekend of August 16.
Championship playoff final kickoff time
Kick-off time was to be confirmed as the end of the regular season approached, with the details set to be published on the EFL website.
Last season’s final started at 15:00 BST.
Where is the Championship playoff final? 2025 venue
The game will take place at Wembley Stadium, as it has every season since 2007.
Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium hosted the spectacle for the six preceding seasons, and the old Wembley Stadium was its home between 1990 and 2000.
BURNLEY are PROMOTED to the Premier League! 🙌 #EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/WYI4i70CJl
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) April 21, 2025
How do the EFL playoffs work?
The Sky Bet EFL play-offs are an annual series of matches to determine the final promotion places within each division of the EFL.
First introduced in 1987, the play-offs are used to separate the four teams that finish directly below the automatic promotion places in EFL divisions through a series of play-off matches.
In the Championship, the team finishing third meets the team in sixth and the side coming fourth takes on the club in fifth in two-legged semi-finals.
The first leg is held at the home of the team that finished lowest, with the second hosted by the team who achieved the higher position.
The winner is decided on aggregate, advancing to a one-off game to decide who is promoted at Wembley Stadium. Away goals are not used.
LEEDS UNITED are Premier League again! ⚪️👏#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/sWrqZfN3XI
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) April 21, 2025
Are penalties and extra time used in the playoff final?
Extra time and, if necessary, penalties are used if the aggregate scoreline is level after the end of regular time in the second legs of the semi-finals.
The final also uses extra time and penalties if the teams are level.
How to watch the EFL Championship playoffs on TV
Sky Sports agreed to broadcast more than 1,000 live EFL matches a season from the start of 2024/25, including games on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports+.
ITV is also now broadcasting a select number of games also available on Sky Sports, as well as 55 highlights programmes a season.
Prices for Sky Sports and TNT Sports vary. Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £26 a month for a six-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.
These scenes outside Elland Road 😍😍 pic.twitter.com/k9c9rbzYzV
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 21, 2025
Championship playoffs live streams: How to watch online
Both broadcasters have dedicated apps allowing fans to live-stream the games: SkyGO for Sky Sports and ITVX for ITV.
Both apps are available on a vast range of devices, including smart TVs, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and mobile devices.
When are the Premier League fixtures released 2025/26?
The full schedule will be announced at 09:00 BST on Wednesday, June 18 2025.
Premier League fixtures release date 2025/26
Dates for all matches will be made available on the Premier League website and via the official competition app.
Fans can download the schedule to their devices with the official Premier League digital calendar.
The moment Leeds and Burnley secured promotion back to the Premier League! ⬆️🍿 pic.twitter.com/57gjs3iUBf
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 21, 2025
When does the 2025/26 Premier League season start and end?
The first round of matches in 2025/26 will be on the weekend of August 16 2025. The last will all start at the same time on May 24 2026.
No rounds will take place within 60 hours of each other and there will be no fixture on December 24.
When are the Championship fixtures released 2025/26?
The full schedule will be announced at 09:00 BST on Thursday, June 26 2025.
The draws for round one of the EFL Cup and the Vertu Trophy group stage will be made on the same day and shown live on Sky Sports News.
Championship fixtures release date 2025/26
Dates will be made available on the EFL website.
Fans can automatically download the schedule to their devices by synchronising it with the EFL Championship calendar.
When does the 2025/26 Championship season start and end?
The first round of matches in 2025/26 will be on the weekend of August 9 2025, with the final games of the regular season on the weekend of May 2 2026.
The Championship play-off final 2025/26 will take place on May 23 2026.
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