The
Football League play-offs
The English Football League play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of the English football leagu ...
for the
1993–94 season were held in May 1994, with the finals taking place at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
and
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...
and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...
table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches gaining promotion for the
following season.
Background
The 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.
First Division
After just missing out on the playoffs a year earlier, Millwall made a stronger challenge for promotion to the Premier League this time around, finishing third and qualifying for the playoffs. Leicester City, beaten finalists in the previous two seasons, qualified for the playoffs by finishing fourth. Tranmere Rovers, who had just missed out on a place in the League Cup final, made another strong challenge in the league and qualified for the playoffs for the second season running. The final playoff place went to Derby County.
The final ended up being an
East Midlands clash as Leicester and Derby won in the semi-finals, and Leicester secured promotion after seven years outside the flight by winning the final 2-1 with both of their goals coming from long-serving
Steve Walsh. The final was Leicester's seventh appearance at Wembley but the first game they had won there.
Semi-finals
;First leg
----
;Second leg
''Leicester City won 2–1 on aggregate.''
----
''Derby County won 5–1 on aggregate.''
Final
Second Division
Semi-finals
;First leg
----
;Second leg
''Stockport County won 1–0 on aggregate.''
----
''Burnley won 3–1 on aggregate.''
Final
Third Division
Semi-finals
;First leg
----
;Second leg
''Preston North End won 4–3 on aggregate.''
----
''Wycombe Wanderers won 4–1 on aggregate.''
Final
External links
Football League website
{{1993–94 in English football
English Football League play-offs