EFL Championship: Parachute payments and changes to the playoff format.....

Aug 01, 2026
football betting tips -
EFL Championship 2026/27:
 
Last season's final table...
 
2025/26 Overall Home Away
P W D L F A Gdf Pts Form P W D L F A P W D L F A
  1   Coventry City 46 28 11 7 97 45 +52 95 WWWX 23 17 4 2 51 19 23 11 7 5 46 26
  2   Ipswich Town 46 23 15 8 80 47 +33 84 WXOW 23 14 8 1 43 17 23 9 7 7 37 30
  3   Millwall 46 24 11 11 64 49 +15 83 WXWW 23 13 3 7 33 25 23 11 8 4 31 24
  4   Southampton 46 22 14 10 82 56 +26 80 WXXW 23 12 8 3 38 19 23 10 6 7 44 37
  5   Middlesbrough 46 22 14 10 72 47 +25 80 XWWX 23 12 6 5 34 18 23 10 8 5 38 29
  6   Hull City 46 21 10 15 70 66 +4 73 WLXX 23 11 5 7 35 34 23 10 5 8 35 32
  7   Wrexham 46 19 14 13 69 65 +4 71 XLWW 23 10 7 6 41 37 23 9 7 7 28 28
  8   Derby County 46 20 9 17 67 59 +8 69 LWLW 23 10 6 7 31 27 23 10 3 10 36 32
  9   Norwich City 46 19 8 19 63 56 +7 65 LXWW 23 9 3 11 27 28 23 10 5 8 36 28
  10   Birmingham City 46 17 13 16 57 56 +1 64 XWWX 23 12 8 3 39 22 23 5 5 13 18 34
  11   Swansea City 46 18 10 18 57 59 -2 64 WXWL 23 11 6 6 34 27 23 7 4 12 23 32
  12   Bristol City 46 17 11 18 59 59 +0 62 WLXL 23 9 4 10 33 31 23 8 7 8 26 28
  13   Sheffield United 46 18 6 22 66 66 +0 60 WLLW 23 9 4 10 38 33 23 9 2 12 28 33
  14   Preston North End 46 15 15 16 55 62 -7 60 LWLL 23 8 7 8 28 30 23 7 8 8 27 32
  15   QPR 46 16 10 20 61 73 -12 58 LLLL 23 10 3 10 40 37 23 6 7 10 21 36
  16   Watford 46 14 15 17 53 65 -12 57 LLLL 23 10 7 6 30 27 23 4 8 11 23 38
  17   Stoke City 46 15 10 21 51 56 -5 55 LLLL 23 9 6 8 34 28 23 6 4 13 17 28
  18   Portsmouth 46 14 13 19 49 64 -15 55 XWLW 23 8 6 9 25 23 23 6 7 10 24 41
  19   Charlton Athletic 46 13 14 19 44 58 -14 53 LWLX 23 9 4 10 23 26 23 4 10 9 21 32
  20   Blackburn Rovers 46 13 13 20 42 56 -14 52 LWXL 23 4 9 10 19 27 23 9 4 10 23 29
  21   WBA1 46 13 14 19 48 58 -10 51 LOWW 23 8 10 5 28 25 23 5 4 14 20 33
  22   Oxford United 46 11 14 21 45 59 -14 47 LWLL 23 7 8 8 24 27 23 4 6 13 21 32
  23   Leicester City2 46 12 16 18 58 68 -10 46 WXXL 23 7 7 9 31 34 23 5 9 9 27 34
  24   Sheffield Wednesday3 46 2 12 32 29 89 -60 0 WLLX 23 1 7 15 14 44 23 1 5 17 15 45
1 WBA (-2)
2 Leicester City (-6)
3 Sheffield Wednesday (-18)
 
Stand out statistic in the Championship is that 11 of the last 14 teams automatically promoted were receiving EPL parachute payments. No wonder, as clubs are not spending at the same level in the second tier as they were 5-6 years back to reach the promised land of the Premier League and the riches that await and, receiving a £40-50m nest egg gives those recently relegated sides a huge advantage. Although it did not help Luton Town much in 2024/25 , or Leicester City last season, as both were relegated for a second season running! 
 
Relegated teams.....
 
  18   West Ham United 38 10 9 19 46 65 -19 39 WLLL 19 6 4 9 27 30 19 4 5 10 19 35
  19   Burnley 38 4 10 24 38 75 -37 22 XLXL 19 2 7 10 18 29 19 2 3 14 20 46
  20   Wolves 38 3 11 24 27 68 -41 20 XXLX 19 3 5 11 19 34 19 0 6 13 8 34
In their first season following relegation, clubs receive 55% of the EPL equal share broadcast revenue. Which means that West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley will each collect around £55m in 2026/27.
 
In the second year after relegation, clubs receive 40%, Southampton, relegated in 2025, will pocket £40m.
 
In the third year following relegation, clubs receive 20% as long as they spent more than a single season in the top flight, if not, it ends after the second payment.
 
The Championship will also have to operate under SCR this season, meaning clubs can allocated up to 85% of their income towards football related costs. That means the relegated trio can use up to £42.5m of this payment if they wish, in addition to any other income generated and in the current second tier financial climate, that feels huge and the likelihood is that at least two, maybe three of the quartet receiving parachute payments will finish top 6-8.
 
Why have I said top 6-8 ? Because the Championship playoffs have been expanded to six teams this season. Those ranked 3rd and 4th advance directly to two legged semi finals, with 5th-8th contesting single leg "eliminator" games. There is also reseeding at the last eight stage, so that 3rd plays the lowest seeded eliminator winner and 4th the highest. That is a big change and will further extend interest in the (late) season and I suspect, influence how teams trade in the January transfer window.
 
Good luck!
 

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Country: 
England
Sport: 
Football
Competition: 
English Championship

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