Segunda División RFEF - Play-offs (Spain) 2025/26

The Segunda División RFEF play-offs serve as the crucial final stage for clubs aiming to reach the third tier of Spanish football. As the fourth level of the national system, the league organises its participants into five regional groups of eighteen teams. The season unfolds through a round-robin format within each group, where the top finisher secures automatic promotion. The subsequent phase involves teams placed between second and fifth in their respective groups entering a knockout tournament. This play-off structure determines the remaining five promotion spots, meaning twenty clubs across the country compete for a chance to advance.

Reserve teams of professional sides are eligible to compete in this competition. However, they face a restriction: they cannot be promoted if their senior team plays in a division above the third tier. This ensures that professional squads do not occupy spots meant for independent clubs. The league operates under the administration of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which restructured the pyramid in 2020. Prior to this change, the former second division B category existed, but the current setup creates a distinct fourth tier separate from the third, known as the Primera Federación.

Relegation also occurs alongside promotion. The bottom five teams in each group drop directly to the fifth tier, known as the Tercera Federación. Additionally, the four lowest-ranked thirteenth-placed teams enter a separate play-off to determine two further teams that will descend. This mechanism keeps the number of clubs stable across the seasons. The play-offs provide a high-stakes environment where clubs like Villanovense, Atlético Madrid II, Barbastro, La Unión Atlético, Navalcarnero, and Recreativo Huelva contest for survival or advancement. The format prioritises direct confrontation over aggregate scores in the final stages, adding intensity to the latter part of the campaign.