WEMBLEY — The English Football League has scheduled its play-off finals for the 2025-26 season at Wembley over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend in May 2026. The Championship play-off final will be held on Saturday, 23 May, followed by the League One final on Sunday, 24 May, and the League Two final on Monday, 25 May.

The regular season will end on Saturday, 2 May. The play-off semi-finals will begin the following week, with the first leg of the Championship semi-final between the teams finishing sixth and third scheduled for Friday, 8 May 2026 at 20:00 BST. The first leg between the teams finishing fifth and fourth will take place on Saturday, 9 May 2026 at 12:30 BST.

League One semi-finals will also commence on 9 May, with the sixth-placed team hosting the third-placed team at 15:00 BST, and the fifth-placed team hosting the fourth-placed team at 20:00 BST. League Two semi-finals will begin on Sunday, 10 May 2026, with the seventh-placed team visiting the fourth-placed team at 15:00 BST and the sixth-placed team visiting the fifth-placed team at 18:00 BST.

The second legs of the Championship semi-finals will take place on Monday, 11 May 2026 and Tuesday, 12 May 2026, both at 20:00 BST. League One second legs are scheduled for Wednesday, 13 May 2026 and Thursday, 14 May 2026 at 20:00 BST. The League Two second legs will be held on Friday, 15 May 2026, with matches at 19:15 BST and 20:00 BST.

This marks the 40th season since the play-offs were introduced in the 1986-87 campaign. It will also be the final season in which the Championship play-offs will be contested solely by teams finishing third to sixth in two-legged ties.

Starting in the 2026-27 season, the Championship play-off format will expand. The team finishing eighth will play at the team finishing fifth in a one-off match, while the team finishing seventh will play at the team finishing sixth in a one-off match. The winners of those matches will then play the teams finishing third and fourth over two-legged ties. There are currently no plans to expand the play-offs in League One and League Two.

The second leg of the League One semi-final between the teams finishing third and sixth will take place on Wednesday, 13 May 2026 at 20:00 BST. The second leg between the teams finishing fourth and fifth will take place on Thursday, 14 May 2026 at 20:00 BST.

The second leg of the League Two semi-final between the teams finishing fourth and seventh will take place on Friday, 15 May 2026 at 19:15 BST, while the second leg between the teams finishing fifth and sixth will take place at 20:00 BST the same day.