2025 EFL play-offs
Football league season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The English Football League play-offs for the 2024–25 season (referred to as the Sky Bet Play-Offs for sponsorship reasons) were held in May 2025 with all finals being staged at Wembley Stadium in London.
(Promoted)Sunderland
(Promoted)Charlton Athletic
(Promoted)AFC Wimbledon
 Wembley Stadium was the venue for each play-off final | |
| Season | 2024–25 |
|---|---|
| Premier League (Promoted) | Sunderland |
| EFL Championship (Promoted) | Charlton Athletic |
| EFL League One (Promoted) | AFC Wimbledon |
← 2024 2026 → | |
The play-offs begin in each league with two semi-finals which were played over two legs. The teams who finished in 3rd to 6th place in the Championship and League One and the 4th to 7th-placed teams in League Two competed. The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the finals, with the winners gaining promotion for the following season.[1][2][3]
All finals were kicked off one minute late, with the extra minute added to highlight the Every Minute Matters campaign, a collaboration between EFL sponsor Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation which focused on the importance of learning CPR.[4]
Background
The English Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places. The fixtures are determined by final league position – in the Championship and League One this is 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, while in League Two it is 4th v 7th and 5th v 6th.
Championship
Championship semi-finals
The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 3 May 2025. Going into the final day, Sheffield United and Sunderland had already confirmed both their place and finish in the play-offs at 3rd and 4th, respectively. Bristol City, Coventry City, Milwall, Blackburn Rovers, and Middlesbrough were all in the hunt for the last two spots. Coventry City leapfrogged Bristol City to 5th after beating Middlesbrough which eliminated them from reaching the play-offs. Despite their draw with relegation-threatened Preston North End, Bristol City finished 6th after Blackburn Rovers drew against Sheffield United and Millwall lost to title challengers Burnley.
| Final league position – Championship | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 46 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 90 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 76 |
| 5 | Coventry City | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 64 | 59 | +5 | 69 |
| 6 | Bristol City | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 59 | 55 | +4 | 68 |
- First leg
| Coventry City | 1–2 | Sunderland |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
- Second leg
Sheffield United won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Sunderland | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Coventry City |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Sunderland won 3–2 on aggregate.
Championship final
League One
League One semi-finals
The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 3 May 2025. Going into the final day, Stockport County, Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic had already qualified for the play-offs. Charlton leapfrogged Wycombe on the final day after the Addicks beat Burton Albion, while the Chairboys lost to Stockport. The final day also saw a two-way battle between Leyton Orient and Reading for the final spot, with Leyton Orient ahead on goal difference. Reading lost to Barnsley while Leyton Orient beat Huddersfield Town to put the O's in the last play-off spot.
| Final league position – League One | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 3 | Stockport County | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 72 | 42 | +30 | 87 |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 67 | 43 | +24 | 85 |
| 5 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 70 | 45 | +25 | 84 |
| 6 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 82 | 64 | +18 | 78 |
- First leg
- Second leg
3–3 on aggregate, Leyton Orient won 4–1 on penalties.
Charlton Athletic won 1–0 on aggregate.
League One final
League Two
League Two semi-finals
The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 3 May 2025. Going into the final day, Bradford City, Walsall, and Notts County had already secured a play-off place but they could still gain automatic promotion. Notts County eliminated themselves from automatic contention after losing to champions Doncaster Rovers. Bradford City then clinched the lone remaining automatic promotion spot with their 96th minute winner against Fleetwood Town, condemning Walsall - who were beating Crewe Alexandra - to the playoffs. The remaining two places were under contention between AFC Wimbledon, Salford City, Grimsby Town, Chesterfield and Colchester United. AFC Wimbledon clinched their spot with a win against Grimsby Town, eliminating the Mariners and leapfrogging Notts County in the process. Chesterfield beat Accrington Stanley to clinch the final playoff spot after Salford City and Colchester United could only draw against relegated Carlisle United and Barrow respectively.
| Final league position – League Two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 4 | Walsall | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 75 | 54 | +21 | 77 |
| 5 | AFC Wimbledon | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 56 | 35 | +21 | 73 |
| 6 | Notts County | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 68 | 49 | +19 | 72 |
| 7 | Chesterfield | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 73 | 54 | +19 | 70 |
- First leg
- Second leg
Walsall won 4–1 on aggregate.
AFC Wimbledon won 2–0 on aggregate.
League Two final
| AFC Wimbledon | 1–0 | Walsall |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |