The

English 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 league ...

for the 2016–17 season (referred to as the

Sky Bet Sky Betting & Gaming is a British-based gambling company, owned by Flutter Entertainment, with headquarters in Leeds, West Yorkshire and offices in Sheffield & Solihull. Sky Betting & Gaming consists of five core brands: Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky ...

Play-Offs for sponsorship reasons) were held in May 2017 with all finals being staged 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 ...

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-offs begin in each league with two semi-finals which are played over two legs. The teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

and

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th-placed teams in

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

compete. The winners of the semi-finals advance to the finals, with the winners gaining promotion for the following season.

Background

The

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

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 – in the Championship and League One this is 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, while in League Two it is 4th v 7th and 5th v 6th.

Championship

Championship Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Reading won 2–1 on aggregate.'' ''Sheffield Wednesday 1–1 Huddersfield Town on aggregate. Huddersfield Town won 4–3 on penalties.'' ----

Championship Final

League One

League One Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Millwall won 3–2 on aggregate.'' ''Bradford City won 1–0 on aggregate.'' ----

League One Final

League Two

League Two Semi-finals

;First leg ---- ;Second leg ''Blackpool won 6–5 on aggregate.'' ''Exeter City won 6–5 on aggregate.'' ----

League Two Final

References

{{2016–17 in English football

Play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

English Football League play-offs May 2017 sports events in the United Kingdom