Wembley Play-Off Finals 2026: Hull, Stockport and Salford Carry the Weekend

The Weekend

Three days at the national stadium, three Wembley finals, three promotions on the line. Hull City and Southampton meet on Saturday for a place in the Premier League. Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers on Sunday for the Championship. Salford City and Notts County on Monday for League One. Six clubs, three matches, ninety thousand seats per day.

The 2026 Fixtures

All three kick off at 15:00 BST. Tickets are split primarily between the finalist clubs, with smaller neutral allocations released through Wembley and Ticketmaster.

Saturday: Hull City vs Southampton

The Championship play-off final has been called the most valuable single game in club football. The 2025 winners, Sunderland, reportedly cleared over £220 million in additional revenue once Premier League TV money, broadcasting equality payments, parachute payments, and commercial uplift were counted. The upper-end estimate runs close to £290 million when top-flight survival and the parachute years are factored in. No fixture in world football has more money on it.

Hull are the outsiders by form and history. Sergej Jakirović's side finished sixth, seven points behind Middlesbrough, and won only three of their final twelve regular-season games. No team finishing sixth in the Championship has won the play-offs since Blackpool in 2010. Hull do, however, know what winning here looks like. They have been to Wembley twice before for play-off finals (2008 and 2016) and won both, and Dean Windass's volley against Bristol City still gets replayed in the city every May. Oli McBurnie scored seventeen goals in the regular season, beaten only by Žan Vipotnik of Swansea in the Championship's scoring charts. Goalkeeper Ivor Pandur, called up to the Croatia squad in November, has one of the highest Goals Prevented tallies in the league at 3.7.

Southampton are the form team. The Saints were relegated from the Premier League last season after just three top-flight wins, and started this Championship campaign with two wins from their first thirteen games. Will Still was sacked at the start of November. Tonda Eckert, promoted from the U21s to interim head coach and then handed the job permanently, has the side unbeaten in the league since mid-January. Cyle Larin, on loan from Mallorca, finished the regular season with five goals in seven matches. Léo Scienza, signed last summer from Heidenheim, has ten assists. Saints beat Middlesbrough over two legs in the semi-finals.

Sunday: Stockport County vs Bolton Wanderers

The League One final is the most lucrative jump in the lower leagues. Championship parachute revenue and the Premier League pathway justify the inflated transfer market a tier up, and the loser can spend years working back to it. Bolton know how it feels: they lost the 2024 League One final 2–0 to Oxford United on this same pitch.

Stockport's route to a Wembley final has been faster than anyone else's in the competition. The club was in the National League as recently as 2021/22 and has climbed two tiers in three seasons. They beat Stevenage 3–0 on aggregate in the semis (1–0 away, 2–0 at home). This is their second Wembley final in three years. They lost the 2023 League Two final 5–4 on penalties to Carlisle United, having drawn 1–1 after extra time.

Bolton are the bigger name and the side carrying recent Wembley scars. The two clubs did not meet in the regular season.

Monday: Salford City vs Notts County

The bank holiday closer, and the most loaded back-story of the three. Notts County, founded in 1862, are English football's oldest professional club. Salford City, refounded and rebranded in 2014 by the Manchester United "Class of '92" group (Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, with David Beckham buying in five years later), have climbed from the Northern Premier League to League Two in just over a decade. The ownership profile draws attention and resistance in equal measure.

Notts County are back in the EFL after a stretch in the National League and have steadily climbed the fourth tier since 2023. The League Two final is usually the loosest and most emotional of the three. Smaller squads, thinner margins, single chances that swing a season. Both ends of Wembley will sell.

Recent Play-Off Finals at Wembley

Getting Tickets

Each finalist club's allocation runs through its own ticket office. If you do not support one of the six clubs, the neutral allocation is the route in. Set a Ticketmaster alert as soon as the semi-final result is confirmed and watch the Wembley Stadium event page. Hospitality is available for all three finals through official Wembley packages, priced at a premium.

Doing all three is achievable. The League Two final is usually the easier neutral ticket to land. The Championship final is the hardest.

Where to Stay, What to Do Before Kick-Off

The Hilton London Wembley sits next to the stadium. Otherwise, anywhere on the Jubilee or Metropolitan line works. Baker Street, Bond Street, and Westminster are all 15 to 25 minutes door-to-Wembley-Park. Boxpark Wembley is the default pre-match meeting point. The Green Man and the Crock of Gold are quieter walking-distance options.

Upcoming Fixtures at Wembley

Why Ground-Hoppers Travel for This Weekend

Two clubs that finished within a handful of points of each other across forty-six league games, both still believing they will win, in a single ninety-minute fixture for a place in the league above. FA Cup finals can be lopsided when a top-six side meets a Championship outsider. Play-off finals are evenly weighted by design. The atmosphere in the stands tracks the stakes, and on a play-off weekend the stakes are everything.

If you can pick only one this year, the Championship final has the biggest money on the line and the most established names in the two dugouts. The League Two final on Monday has the better story: football's oldest professional club against a club owned by a group of Manchester United legends, for a place in League One.

Track Your Trip

Heading to one of the finals? Log it in Ground Hopper and start your record of every match you attend.