The Championship play-offs offer end-of-season excitement for fans across England, with four teams battling it out to see who can secure the ultimate prize of promotion to the Premier League. With the winner getting the opportunity to play against some of the biggest clubs in the world, as well as seeing a huge increase in revenue thanks to the lucrative TV deals on offer, it is the sweetest way to end a long and arduous campaign.
The 2023/24 Championship campaign has finally reached its conclusion, confirming the makeup of the play-off semi-finals and potential paths to promotion for the four clubs involved.
Leeds United will take on Southampton after comfortable second-leg victories saw them overcome Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion respectively.
Football FanCast has taken a look ahead at the details concerning the upcoming 2024 EFL Championship play-offs.
How the Championship play-offs work
The Championship play-offs consist of two semi-finals; the team who finish in third play the team finishing in sixth, while the team finishing in fourth plays the team who finished fifth.
One team advances from each semi-final tie, which is settled over two legs home and away, with the team leading on aggregate after 180 minutes of football (or more) advancing to the final. The team who finished lower will be at home for the first leg, whilst the team who finished higher will be at home for the deciding return leg.
Should there be a tie in scoring after 180 minutes of football, the match will be settled via extra time and possibly even penalties if the score is still level following an additional 30 minutes.
Whoever comes out on top in both ties will then meet at Wembley Stadium to do battle for the Championship play-offs trophy and promotion to the Premier League. Extra time and penalties are required if both teams are tied at the end of 90 minutes, with the losing team staying in the Championship.
Final EFL Championship standings
Four teams have made it into the Championship play-offs for the 2023/24 season following the end of the regular season.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town officially rubber-stamped their promotions; the former as champions despite a final-day defeat, while the latter confirmed their return to the top flight after 22 years away.
In terms of the play-off places, Ipswich's victory meant Leeds had to settle for the play-offs, while West Brom won on the final day to allay any lingering fears over dropping out of the top six. Southampton and Norwich City were the others in the top six.
1st
Leicester
46
31
4
11
+48
97
2nd
Ipswich
46
28
12
6
+35
96
3rd
Leeds
46
27
9
10
+38
90
4th
Southampton
46
26
9
11
+24
87
5th
West Brom
46
21
12
13
+23
75
6th
Norwich
46
21
10
15
+15
73
Championship Table: Latest standings for the 2024/25 season
Latest English Football League Championship standings 2024/25.
ByStephan GeorgiouApr 22, 2025 2024 Championship play-off dates
The 2023/24 Championship play-offs will be held from 12th-17th May 2024, ahead of the final on Sunday 26th May.
Sunday, May 12th
Norwich City 0-0 Leeds United
12pm
Sunday, May 12th
West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Southampton
2.15pm
Thursday, May 16th
Leeds United 4-0 Norwich City
8pm
Friday, May 17th
Southampton 3-1 West Bromwich Albion
8pm
It has already been announced that the 2023/24 Championship play-off final will take place on Sunday 26th May, with kick-off at 3pm.
The play-off final is part of a busy summer programme for the national stadium, with Wembley also hosting the Champions League final on 1st June.
Date
26th May 2024
Time
3pm
Venue
Wembley Stadium
Capacity
90,000
Where to watch the 2024 Championship play-offs on UK TV and live-stream
The Championship play-offs will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, as well as Sky Go if you're looking for online streaming.
However, if you're based in the US, Championship play-off games are available to watch and stream live on ESPN+ and the ESPN network.
How and where to buy Championship play-off final tickets
Leeds United
Following their victory over Norwich City, Leeds have been allocated 35,796 tickets in Wembley's East End, with prices ranging from £18.50 to £105. Tickets can only be purchased through the club's online portal and will be available to buy in phases starting from Saturday morning, as the below table shows.
Phase
Date
Time
Tickets open to
1
Saturday 18th May
10.30am
2023/24 Seasonal Hospitality Members
2
Monday 20th May
10.30am
2023/24 All My Leeds Members who purchased a ticket for 9 or more games in total across the 2023/24 season.
Both ticket purchasing periods close at 12pm on Tuesday 21st May. If there are any remaining tickets at this point, the club will announce next steps on their website, where the full ticket information can also be found.
Southampton
The Saints were given an allocation of 35,667 tickets as a full contingent heads to Wembley for the first time since 2018, when they reached the FA Cup semi-final before a Premier League trip to Spurs a few months later. A limited attendance saw Southampton fall to eventual winners Leicester City in the 2020/21 FA Cup semis.
Full ticketing details for Southampton can be found here. At the time of writing, some supporters are still eligible to buy tickets. Season ticket holders were given priority and guaranteed tickets during their purchase window.
Fans who attended any first-team men's fixture since 2021/22 will be able to purchase tickets, subject to availability.
How much the Championship play-off final is worth
Often referred to as ‘the richest game in football’, the play-off final is worth huge amounts of money for the winner as they get the chance to progress to one of the biggest and best leagues in the world.
Prior to the 2020 Championship play-off final, Deloitte reported that the winners of the Championship play-offs could earn prize money of anywhere between £135m and £265m, depending on whether or not they could avoid immediate relegation from the Premier League.
How Premier League prize money works
About £2.2m is awarded to each spot in the table, with clubs earning additional funds through other revenue streams like sponsorships. A significant portion of these add-ons are derived from getting a piece of the broadcast pot, which is growing yearly.
To explain further, the broadcast pot depends on how many live TV games a club is involved in, so the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool this year will likely receive more than others, simply because the title race has resulted in most of the games involving these sides being picked for TV selection.
A Premier League club is way more attractive to sponsors than a club in the Championship, so there may be the opportunity to earn additional revenue from this.
Parachute Payments explained
The Premier League implemented parachute payments during the 2006–07 season in an effort to lessen the financial hardship that a relegated side could experience upon being demoted to the Championship.
The Premier League pays relegated clubs in the English Football League in a structured manner over the course of the seasons following relegation. During their first season in the Championship, a club receives 55% of what they would receive under the Premier League's basic TV money deal for each club. They then earn 45% in the second year after relegation. In the third year, they will additionally receive 20% if the team was in the Premier League for more than one season before being relegated.
Last year's Championship play-off final
Following the conclusion of the 2022/23 Championship regular season, Luton Town, Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland battled it out for a place in the Premier League.
Luton ended up coming back from a first-leg deficit to book their place in the Championship play-off final with a 3-2 aggregate win over Sunderland. Meanwhile, Coventry earned their place in the final with a narrow 1-0 aggregate win over Boro.
And the final didn't disappoint as a packed Wembley Stadium laid witness to a 6-5 penalty shootout win for Luton after both sides were stuck at 1-1 at the end of normal and extra time.