Football League Play-Offs
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In the Football League and English Conference, a Play-Off system is used to determine who the last team to be promoted from that league will be. In the Championship, the teams finishing third, fourth, fifth and sixth are entered for the Play-Offs. The team finishing third plays the team that finished sixth, with the first leg being held at the home of the team that finished sixth and the second leg being held at the home of the team that finished third. This is designed to give the team that finished third an advantage. This is the same for the teams that finished fourth and fifth, with the advantage being with the team that finished fourth. The two winning teams then play each other in the final, with the winning team winning promotion to the Premiership. The final was originally played at Wembley Stadium, but in 2000 it transferred to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, due to the re-building work at Wembley.
The format is the same in League One, but in League Two and the Conference there are differences. In League Two three teams are automatically promoted, so the teams that finished fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh enter into the Play-Offs. In the Conference only one team is automatically promoted, so the teams that finished second, third, fourth and fifth are entered into the Play-Offs. The final of the Conference Play-Off isn't played at a national stadium but is usually held at one of the Championships bigger grounds, such as Stoke City's Britannia Stadium.
[edit] Successes of the Play-Offs
The Play-Offs offer a more exciting finish to the season. If only the top two teams were promoted, teams that finished in the lower regions of the top half of the table would have nothing to play for. Therefore, this system offers teams an incentive to play and compete until the end of the season. Moreover, players and supporters of the two teams in to final get to experience the atmosphere of a final and there is the opportunity to win a trophy.
[edit] Criticisms of the Play-Offs
Despite this system extending the season, many dislike it. Many feel that it is an unfair system that offers the chance of promotion to teams that don't necessarily deserve it. A team that finishes sixth could be over twenty points behind the team that finished third and can win promotion at their expense. Therefore, many believe that it is an unfair system.
