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The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the
English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
and the third tier overall in the
English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...
, after the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and the
EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...
. It is contested by 24 clubs. Introduced in the 2004–05 English football season as Football League One, it is a rebrand of the former
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 tier ...
.
Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...
currently hold the longest tenure in the division following relegation from the Championship at the end of the 2017–18 season. There are nine former Premier League clubs currently competing in this division, named
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
(1997–98),
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
(2010–11),
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
(1995–96, 1997–98, and 2001–12),
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
(1999-2001),
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
(2013-14 and 2018-19),
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
(2017–19),
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
(2023-24),
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
(2006–08 and 2012–13), and
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
(2005–13).


Structure

There are 24 clubs in this division. Each club plays each of the others twice. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none 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 Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
, goals scored, an aggregate 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 The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
between the clubs which finished in the third to sixth positions, are promoted to the
EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...
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 The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...
and are replaced by the top three clubs and the club that won the fourth to seventh place
play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
in that division.


Current members

:'' Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.''


Teams promoted from League One


Play-off results


Relegated teams

Expelled in August 2019 after financial breaches.


Top scorers

In 35 games. Season truncated because of coronavirus.


Attendances

EFL League One is the most-watched third-tier domestic sports league in the world, with an average of 10,613 spectators per game in the 2022–23 season, also making it one of the top ten most watched leagues in Europe. The closest third-tier association football league in terms of average attendance is the Germany
3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
(8,219). The highest average attendance since the restructure into League One was 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 ...
season, when over 5.3 million spectators watched games, with an average of 10,613 per game. The highest average attendance by a single club was
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
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 Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...
game against
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
.


Historic performance

Since the restructuring into League One in 2004, 78 teams have spent at least one season in the division, including 7 of the 20 teams in the
2025–26 Premier League The 2025–26 Premier League will be the 34th season of the Premier League and the 127th season of English football. The fixtures were released on 18 June 2025 at 09:00 BST. This will be the first full season where semi-automated offside tech ...
.
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...
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
Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...
, who will be in their eighth consecutive season in the division, having been in League One since the 2018–19 season.
Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...
have had the highest number of separate spells in League One with six. There have been 18 different Champions of League One, with
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
having won the division three times. Key * Teams with this background and symbol in the "Club" column will be competing in the
2025–26 EFL League One The 2025–26 EFL League One (referred to as the Sky Bet League One due to sponsorship reasons) will be the 22nd season of the EFL League One under its current title, and the 34th season under its current league division format. The season will ...
* Team will be competing in the
2025–26 Premier League The 2025–26 Premier League will be the 34th season of the Premier League and the 127th season of English football. The fixtures were released on 18 June 2025 at 09:00 BST. This will be the first full season where semi-automated offside tech ...
* 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 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 Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...
)'' * 1921–22 & 1957–58 ''(as Football League Division Three North/
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
)'' * 1958–59 & 1992–93 ''(as
Football League Division Three 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 Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...
)'' * 1992–93 & 2003–04 ''(as
Football League Division Two 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 tier ...
)'' *
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 clubs' locations

England League One – Predictions, Tips, Statistics
{{UEFA third leagues Football leagues in England 1 2004 establishments in England Sports leagues established in 2004 Third-level football leagues in Europe Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom