EFL slammed as decision finally made on £220m Championship play-off final

The EFL have finally confirmed that the Championship play-off final between Sheffield United and Sunderland on May 24 will kick off at 3pm. The Wembley showdown is arguably the most valuable in football, with the estimating winning this year’s match and reaching the will be a worth a minimum of £220million in extra income.

A late-season slump saw Sheffield United miss out on automatic promotion but they came through comfortably to beat Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate to reach the play-off final. were seconds away from a penalty shoot-out in their semi-final against Coventry when Dan Ballard’s last-gasp goal sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory.

The EFL said the kick-off time had been confirmed following a meeting of the Safety Advisory Group on Thursday morning. The league said the meeting included representatives from all relevant agencies and other stakeholders, including the Metropolitan Police and Wembley National Stadium.

The Blades sealed their place in the final on Monday and some of the club’s supporters have criticised the EFL for not confirming the kick-off time earlier to help with travel and accommodation arrangements.

Rail works scheduled for the Bank Holiday weekend will also cause disruption for fans travelling from Sheffield to London St Pancras. Blades Fans Advisory Group said on X: “The lack of empathy, understanding, compassion, communication & care of fans needs addressing. This level of service would be totally unacceptable in any other industry!”

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Meanwhile, Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has challenged his team to go one more time after seeing them snatch a place in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final with a dramatic late goal.

Defender Dan Ballard’s header in the third-minute of stoppage time after extra-time clinched a 1-1 draw with Coventry on the night and a 3-2 aggregate win to send the Stadium of Light into raptures.

However, the Frenchman knows the Black Cats’ late heroics will count for little if they do not get past Sheffield United at Wembley on May 24 to seal a return to the Premier League after an absence of eight years.

Asked about his emotions on the final whistle, Le Bris said: “It shows that this season was fantastic. I think it’s really important to say that because you can lose, you can win in the end, but what we lived together this season was absolutely brilliant and we don’t have to forget that.

“After that, it’s really important to think about Wembley now because one more game, it will be another tough challenge and we are now really focused on that future.”

Ballard’s header, which ultimately settled a tie which was fought tooth and nail over two legs, came as Sunderland finally rallied after seeing their 2-1 first leg lead cancelled out by Ephron Mason-Clark with Coventry enjoying the better of much of what had gone before.

Le Bris knows they will have to steel themselves once again for the clash with Chris Wilder’s Blades with both sides having won their home game during the regular season.

He said: “They are a really good team, well-organised with different threats, good experience. They were in the Premier League last season, so another tough challenge.

“But I think to be promoted at the end, you have to break something and it will be tough, but we’ll have our ambition, we’ll have our desire to win and we’ll give all the quality we have in this group, the character, the ambition and so on.”

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