EFL clubs will vote next month on an expansion of the Championship playoffs to six teams after receiving approval from the Football Association’s board of directors to make the radical change.
The Guardian has learned that all 72 EFL clubs were invited on Tuesday to an extraordinary general meeting on March 5, when they will vote on a new playoff format that would begin next season.
A simple majority of the 72 clubs and 24 in the Championship (37 and 13 votes in favor respectively) is needed to formalize a regulation change approved by the EFL board last week.
The FA is understood to have given its approval at a board meeting in December despite opposition from the Premier League, which is concerned about a potential drop in standards and less competitive balance if a team that finishes eighth in the Championship is promoted to the top flight.
The EFL proposal would add a knockout round to the championship playoffs in a format similar to that used by the National League.
The fifth-placed team would play the eighth-placed team, and the sixth-placed team would play seventh, on the field of the highest-placed club in a one-off tie to determine progression to the semi-finals of the home-and-away playoffs against the clubs that finished third and fourth.
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Southampton surprises Leicester
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Leicester goalkeeper Andy King told his players they could have no complaints about being booed after watching them waste a 3-0 lead before being beaten 4-3 by Southampton.
After being deducted six points by the EFL for financial breaches and moving perilously close to the relegation zone, the hosts looked set for a first win under their interim manager when Patson Daka and Abdul Fatawu pounced after on-loan Manchester City teenager Divine Mukasa’s opener.
But King’s opposite number, Tonda Eckert, introduced three substitutes at the start of the second half before adding two more at the end, with three of them – Ross Stewart, Ryan Manning and Shea Charles – joining captain Jack Stephens on the scoreboard in a stunning turnaround.
Stephens and Manning scored during the final 10 minutes of normal time before Charles left City fans scratching their heads when he scored the winner in added time.
City, now without a win in six games, looked crushed as the cheers that had been echoing around the King Power Stadium turned to boos.
King said: “Let’s not be naïve about what just happened there. The fans are fully justified in reacting the way they did in the end.
“I was very strong at half-time to the point where the game wasn’t won. I was happy with the first half, but it’s certainly not a positive. There’s nothing positive to take away from the second half. None at all.”
“I can’t explain what happened. I’ve spoken to the players and there is a feeling of anger, but I won’t give any more details until I’ve had time to reflect more.”
With just a goal difference separating City from the bottom three, King said: “I want to apologize for that last half hour because it wasn’t acceptable. You can’t hide from anything. It’s going to be difficult to come back from that.”
As City look anxiously over their shoulders, Southampton are now within striking distance of the playoffs after Eckert’s tactical and personnel adjustments sparked a dramatic improvement in performance. “At halftime, we restarted,” he said.
“I asked the players to make a decision and that was whether they wanted to do well. To be fair, they had already made that decision. I don’t have an explanation for what happened during the first half. But we recovered. It was a crazy night.”
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The winners of those ties would meet at Wembley as usual to play for promotion to the Premier League.
The EFL is understood to be confident the change will be approved, having consulted widely with clubs since the idea was proposed at a Championship divisional meeting in September.
The idea of expanding the playoffs has been discussed before in EFL circles without gaining enough traction.
The EFL is understood to have earned the backing of its rights holder, Sky Sports, which welcomed the prospect of two more matches given the drama and danger of the playoffs, one of the highlights of the club’s season.
If successful, the new format could be expanded to League One and League Two in later seasons.
The FA and EFL declined to comment.