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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 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 Engla ...
and the third tier overall in the entire English football league system. League One debuted for the 2004–05 season. It was previously known briefly as the
Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...
and for much longer, before the advent of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
, as the
Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
. At present,
Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed i ...
hold the longest tenure in League One, last being out of the division in 2013–14 season when they were promoted from League Two. There are currently eight former
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
clubs competing in League One, namely
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough ha ...
(1997–98), Bolton Wanderers (1995–96, 1997–98 and 2001–12),
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
(1998–99 and 2000–07), Derby County (1996–2002 and 2007–08)
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...
(1992–95 and 2000–02), Milton Keynes Dons (as Wimbledon 1992–2000),
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
(2003–10), and
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
(1992–2000).


Structure

There are 24 clubs in League One. Each club plays each club twice (once at
home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...
and once away). Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. At the end of the season a table of the final League standings is determined, based on the following criteria in this order: points obtained, goal difference, goals scored, an
aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...
of the results between two or more clubs (ranked using the previous three criteria), most matches won, most goals scored away from home, fewest "penalty points" based on yellow and red cards received, followed by fewest straight red cards for certain offences. If two or more teams are still tied after examining all of these criteria, they will share the higher place between them. The only exception would be if the tied teams span the boundary between 2nd and 3rd, 6th and 7th, or 20th and 21st place, in which case one or more play-off matches would be arranged between the tied clubs. At the end of each season the top two clubs, together with the winner of the play-offs between the clubs which finished in 3rd–6th position, are promoted to EFL Championship and are replaced by the three clubs that finished at the bottom of that division. Similarly, the four clubs that finished at the bottom of EFL League One are relegated to EFL League Two and are replaced by the top three clubs and the club that won the 4th–7th place play-offs in that division.


Current members

The following 24 clubs are competing in League One during the
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season.


Teams promoted from League One

For past winners at this level before 2004, see
List of winners of the EFL League One and predecessors A national third tier of English league football was established in 1958–59, as the Third Division. This followed on from the regional third tier that had been established in the south in 1920 and the north in 1921. In 1992, with the departu ...
.


Play-off results


Relegated teams

Expelled in August 2019 after financial breaches.


Top scorers

In 35 games. Season truncated due to coronavirus


Attendances

EFL League One is the most-watched third-tier domestic sports league in the world, with an average of 8,802 spectators per game in the 2019–20 season. The closest third tier association football league in terms of average attendance is the Germany 3. Liga (6,185). The highest average attendance since the restructure into League One was the 2021–22 season, with an average of 9,953. The highest average attendance by a single club was
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
in the 2018–19 season with 32,157. They also set the League One attendance record for a single game in the same season, when 46,039 spectators attended the Boxing Day game against
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...
.


Historic performance

Since the restructuring into League One in 2004, 75 teams have spent at least one season in the division, including 8 of the 20 teams in the 2022–23 Premier League. Milton Keynes Dons has spent 15 seasons in League One, the most of any team. Oldham Athletic's single 14-season consecutive spell was the longest of any team. The team with the current longest tenure is
Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed i ...
, who have been in League One continuously since the 2014–15 season. Rotherham United and Peterborough United have had the highest number of separate spells in League One with five each. There have been 15 different Champions of League One, with
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
having won the division three times.


Key

* Teams with this background and symbol in the "Club" column will be competing in the
2022–23 EFL League One The 2022–23 EFL League One (referred to as the Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons) is the 19th season of the Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for ...
* Team will be competing in the 2022–23 Premier League * The club competed in League One during that season (the number is the club's final league position)


Financial Fair Play

Beginning with the 2012–13 season, a Financial Fair Play arrangement has been in place in all three divisions of the Football League, the intention being eventually to produce a league of financially self-sustaining clubs. In League One, this takes the form of a Salary Cost Management Protocol in which a maximum of 60% of a club's turnover may be spent on players' wages, with sanctions being applied in the form of transfer embargoes.


See also

* 1920–21 ''(as Football League Division Three)'' * 1921–22 & 1957–58 ''(as Football League Division Three North/ South)'' * 1958–59 & 1992–93 ''(as Football League Division Three)'' * 1992–93 & 2003–04 ''(as Football League Division Two)'' *
List of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom This article features a listing of all professional sports teams based in the United Kingdom, in addition to teams from other countries that compete in professional leagues featuring teams from the United Kingdom. Football Premier League EFL ...


Footnotes


References


External links


EFL League One official site

EFL League One clubs' locations

England League One – Predictions, Tips, Statistics
{{UEFA third leagues 3 2 2004 establishments in England Sports leagues established in 2004 Eng Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom