The English Football League play-offs for the 2024âÂÂ25 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.
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 2024-25 EFL Championship and the 2024-25 EFL League One and the 4th to 7th-placed teams in the 2024-25 EFL League Two competed. The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the finals, with the winners gaining promotion for the following season.
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.
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 â in the EFL Championship and EFL League One this is 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, while in EFL League Two it is 4th v 7th and 5th v 6th.
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.
Key:
Bold = League champions
<section begin="Championship semi-finals" />
Sheffield United won 6âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
Sunderland won 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.<section end="Championship 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 Athletic leapfrogged Wycombe Wanderers on the final day after Charlton Athletic beat Burton Albion 3-1 at The Valley with goals for Charlton Athletic from a Matt Godden brace and Alex Mitchell and a goal for Burton Albion from a Mason Bennett penalty kick, while Wycombe Wanderers lost 3-1 to Stockport County at Adams Park with a goal for Wycombe Wanderers from Garath McCleary and goals for Stockport County from Benoný Breki Andrésson, an Oliver Norwood penalty kick and Will Collar. 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 4-2 to Barnsley at the Select Car Leasing Stadium in front of a prospective new owner Rob Couhig with goals for Reading from captain Lewis Wing and Billy Bodin and goals for Barnsley from Stephen Humphrys, Jon Russell and a brace from Davis Keillor-Dunn while Leyton Orient beat Huddersfield Town 4-1 at the Kirklees Stadium to put the O's in the last play-off spot with goals for Leyton Orient from a Dan Agyei brace, an own goal from Jacob Chapman and Azeem Abdulai and a goal for Huddersfield Town from Josh Koroma.
Key:
Bold = League champions
<section begin="League One semi-finals" />
3âÂÂ3 on aggregate, Leyton Orient won 4âÂÂ1 on penalties.
Charlton Athletic won 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate.<section end="League One semi-finals" /><section end="League One 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 Grimsby Town 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.
Key:
Bold = League champions
<section begin="League Two semi-finals" />
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Walsall won 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
AFC Wimbledon won 2âÂÂ0 on aggregate.<section end="League Two semi-finals" />