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The latest Sunderland and EFL news
The EFL has released a series of key dates ahead of next season - though clearly Sunderland will be hoping to be in the Premier League by then.
In a statement released on Thursday, the EFL have confirmed the fixtures for the new season will be released on June 26th for Championship, League One and League Two clubs. The dates for the first round of the Carabao Cup have also been confirmed plus the play-off final dates for 2026 for the respective leagues.
Meanwhile, the new season will get underway over the weekend of August 8 to 10th for the Championship. Sunderland, under the stewardship of Regis Le Bris, will hope to be in the Premier League of course as they continue their battle for promotion. Next up for Sunderland is the Saturday lunchtime kick-off against play-off rivals West Bromwich Albion and former boss Tony Mowbray. The battle for promotion is intense but Sunderland look poised to confirm their position in the play-offs over the next week or so given the significant points gap between them and 7th.
Meanwhile, looking to the summer, a number of key dates have now been confirmed ahead of the new season and they are detailed below following the release from the EFL - with several key dates for the diary.
What has the EFL said about the key dates for next season?
An EFL statement read: “As the 2024/25 season draws to an exciting close, supporters can now mark a further date in their calendar for the 2025/26 campaign with the highly anticipated fixture release day set for 9am on Thursday 26 June 2025.
“The 2025/26 season will kick-off over the weekends of 1-3 August in League One and League Two and 8-10 August in the Championship.
“Fixture release day will also incorporate the draws for Round One of the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy Group Stage, which will both take place live on Sky Sports News.”
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed the Sky Bet Play-Offs will take place over the 2026 May Bank Holiday Weekend, from 23-25 May.
The statement added “The scheduled 46 rounds of League matches will take place across 33 weekends, nine midweeks and four Bank Holidays in the Championship, with Leagues One and Two playing over 33 weekends, five midweeks and eight Bank Holidays and International Breaks.”
Key dates ahead of the 2025/26 EFL season
Fixture release date – Thursday 26 June 2025 at 9am.
EFL opening weekends
League One and League Two: Friday 1 August – Sunday 3 August
Championship: Friday 8 August – Sunday 10 August
Final games of the regular season
Weekend of 2/3 May 2026
Carabao Cup Round One Draw – Thursday 26 June 2025
Carabao Cup Round One – w/c 11 August 2025
Carabao Cup Final – Sunday 22 March 2026
Championship Play-Off Final – Saturday 23 May 2026
League One Play-Off Final – Sunday 24 May 2026
League Two Play-Off Final – Monday 25 May 2026
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