| Season | 2026–27 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 August 2026 – May 2027 |
|
← 2025–26
2027–28 →
All statistics correct as of 19 May 2026. |
|
The 2026–27 EFL Championship, referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes, will be the 11th season of the EFL Championship under its current title and the 35th season under its current league division format. This will be the first season following the expansion of the post season play-offs from four teams to six.[1]
The 2026–27 season will consist of 46 matchdays in total with the fixture list set to be released on 25 June 2026 at 12:00 BST.[2] The opening round of the league will take place between 14 and 16 August. [3]
Team changes
The following teams will change division after the 2025–26 season:
To ChampionshipPromoted from League One
Relegated from the Premier League
|
From ChampionshipPromoted to the Premier League
Relegated to League One
|
Stadiums and locations
|
London
Birmingham City
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Bristol City
Burnley
Cardiff
City
Derby County
Lincoln City
Middlesbrough
Norwich
City
Preston
North End
Portsmouth
Sheffield
United
Southampton
Stoke City
Swansea
City
Watford
West Bromwich Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wrexham
London teams:
Charlton Athletic Millwall Queens Park Rangers West Ham United
Charlton Athletic
Millwall
Queens Park Rangers
West Ham United
|
Personnel and sponsoring
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main | Other(s) | ||||
| Birmingham City | Nike | Undefeated[4] |
List
|
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| Blackburn Rovers | TBC | Macron | Watson Ramsbottom Solicitors[5] |
List
|
|
| Bolton Wanderers | Macron | Victorian Plumbing[6] |
List
|
||
| Bristol City | TBC | O'Neills | Fever[7] |
List
|
|
| Burnley | TBC | Castore | TBC |
List
|
|
| Cardiff City | Castore | Visit Malaysia |
List
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| Charlton Athletic | Reebok | RSK Group |
List
|
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| Derby County | Puma | Loaded[8] |
List
|
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| Lincoln City | Oxen | TBC |
List
|
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| Middlesbrough | Castore[9] | TBC |
List
|
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| Millwall | Erreà | Wiggett Group[10] |
List
|
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| Norwich City | Joma | Blakely Clothing |
List
|
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| Portsmouth | Nike | University of Portsmouth |
List
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| Preston North End | Castore | TBC |
List
|
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| Queens Park Rangers | Erreà | TBC |
List
|
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| Sheffield United | Adidas[11] | TBC |
List
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| Southampton | Puma[13] | TBC |
List
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| Stoke City | Macron | bet365 |
List
|
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| Swansea City | Joma | TBC |
List
|
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| Watford | TBC | Kelme | BOXT[14] |
List
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|
| West Bromwich Albion | Macron | Ideal Heating[15] |
List
|
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| West Ham United | New Balance | TBC |
List
|
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| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Sudu | TBC |
List
|
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| Wrexham | Macron | United Airlines[17] |
List
|
||
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers | End of interim spell | 2 May 2026 | Pre-season | |||
| Bristol City | ||||||
| Watford | Sacked | 3 May 2026 | ||||
| Burnley | End of interim spell | 24 May 2026 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Blackburn Rovers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for Championship play-offs semi-finals |
| 4 | Bristol City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Burnley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for Championship play-offs quarter-finals |
| 6 | Cardiff City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Charlton Athletic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Derby County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Lincoln City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Millwall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Norwich City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Portsmouth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | Preston North End | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | Queens Park Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | Sheffield United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | Swansea City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | Watford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 21 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to EFL League One |
| 23 | Wrexham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 24 | Southampton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4[a] |
First match(es) will be played: 14 August 2026. Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) Number of 12-point sending off offences; 9) Play-off (only if needed to determine promotion/relegation)[21]
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) Number of 12-point sending off offences; 9) Play-off (only if needed to determine promotion/relegation)[21]
Notes:
Results
Play-offs
Bracket
| Eliminators | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||
| Lowest-seeded eliminators winner | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | TBC | 3 | TBC | |||||||||||||
| 8 | TBC | |||||||||||||||
| Highest-seeded eliminators winner | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | TBC | 4 | TBC | |||||||||||||
| 7 | TBC | |||||||||||||||
Season statistics
- As of Pre-season
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 0
- Most red cards: 0
Club
- Most yellow cards: 0
- Most red cards: 0
- Fewest yellow cards: 0
- Fewest red cards: 0
Awards
Monthly
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||||
| September | |||||
| October | |||||
| November | |||||
| December | |||||
| January | |||||
| February | |||||
| March | |||||
| April | |||||
See also
- 2026–27 Premier League
- 2026–27 EFL League One
- 2026–27 EFL League Two
- 2026–27 National League
- 2026–27 EFL Cup
- 2026–27 FA Cup
- 2026–27 EFL Trophy
References
- ^ "Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Format". EFL. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ^ "EFL fixture release day confirmed for 2026/27 season". EFL. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ^ "EFL kick-off dates confirmed for 2026/27 season". English Football League. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ^ "Undefeated named Blues' new principal partner and sponsor". Birmingham City Football Club (Press release). Birmingham. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Rovers renew Watson Ramsbottom partnership". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
- ^ "Victorian Plumbing Commits Its Future to Bolton Wanderers with New Deal" (Press release). Bolton: Bolton Wanderers Football Club. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "Fever to become men's Front of Shirt and Official Ticketing and Experience Partner". Bristol City Football Club. 27 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ "CLUB PARTNER: Derby County announce Loaded as Front of Shirt (Principal) Partner". Derby County Football Club (Press release). Birmingham. 15 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- ^ "Castore announced as official technical kit supplier". Middlesbrough Football Club. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ "Millwall announce Wiggett Group as new front-of-shirt sponsor". Millwall Football Club. Millwall Football Club. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ "adidas and Blades link up again". Sheffield United FC. 22 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
- ^ "Russell Martin on James Ward-Prowse and club captaincy". Southampton Football Club (Press release). Southampton. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "PUMA officially becomes a Saint". Southampton Football Club (Press release). Southampton. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Official: BOXT Confirmed As New Front-Of-Shirt Sponsor". Watford FC. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ^ "Ideal Heating sign-up for record-breaking extension as Principal Sponsor". West Bromwich Albion FC. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
- ^ "Jarrod Bowen appointed West Ham United Club captain" (Press release). London: West Ham United Football Club. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ^ "United Airlines Debuts New, Limited-Edition Wrexham AFC Amenity Kits and Pajamas". United.com. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "Club Statement: Michael O'Neill". www.rovers.co.uk. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ^ "Club Statement: Ed Still". www.watfordfc.com. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ^ Johnson, Dale (19 May 2026). "Southampton expelled from play-offs for spying on Middlesbrough who have been reinstated to the play-off Final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
- ^ "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". EFL. Retrieved 8 April 2022.