EFL League One


The English Football League One is the third-highest division of the English Football League and the third tier overall in the entire English football league system.
League One was introduced for the 2004–05 season. It was previously known briefly as the Football League Second Division and for much longer, prior to the advent of the Premier League, as the Football League Third Division.
At present, Peterborough and Gillingham hold the longest tenure in League One, both last being out of the division in the 2012–13 season. There are currently four former Premier League clubs competing in League One, namely Blackpool, Ipswich Town, Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Structure

There are 24 clubs in League One. Each club plays every other club twice. 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 of the results between two or more clubs and, finally, a series of one or more play-off matches.
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.

Media coverage

currently show live League One matches with highlights shown on Quest TV on their show EFL on Quest. Highlights of all games in the Football League are also available to view separately on the Sky Sports website. In Sweden, :sv: TV3 Sport|TV3 Sport has the rights of broadcasting from the league. A couple of league matches during the season of 09/10 including play-off matches and the play-off final to the Championship were shown. In Australia, beIN Sports broadcasts live Championship matches. In the US and surrounding countries including Cuba and Puerto Rico, some EFL Championship, EFL League One and EFL League Two games are shown on ESPN+. In Spain, DAZN broadcasts live matches from League One and League Two.

Current members

The following 23 clubs competed in League One during the 2019–20 season. The 24th club, Bury, was expelled from the EFL on 27 August 2019 and did not fulfil any of their fixtures for the season. Their manager at the time was Paul Wilkinson.
ClubFinishing position last seasonLocationStadiumCapacity
Accrington Stanley14thAccringtonCrown Ground5,057
AFC Wimbledon20thLondon Kingsmeadow4,850
Blackpool10thBlackpoolBloomfield Road17,338
Bolton Wanderers23rd in Championship BoltonUniversity of Bolton Stadium28,723
Bristol Rovers15thBristolMemorial Stadium12,300
Burton Albion9thBurton upon TrentPirelli Stadium6,912
Coventry City8thBirmingham St Andrew's29,409
Doncaster Rovers6thDoncasterKeepmoat Stadium15,231
Fleetwood Town11thFleetwoodHighbury Stadium5,311
Gillingham13thGillinghamPriestfield Stadium11,582
Ipswich Town24th in Championship IpswichPortman Road30,311
Lincoln City1st in League Two LincolnSincil Bank10,307
Milton Keynes Dons3rd in League Two Milton KeynesStadium MK30,500
Oxford United12thOxfordKassam Stadium12,500
Peterborough7thPeterboroughLondon Road15,314
Portsmouth4thPortsmouthFratton Park21,100
Rochdale16thRochdaleSpotland10,249
Rotherham United22nd in Championship RotherhamNew York Stadium12,021
Shrewsbury Town18thShrewsburyNew Meadow9,875
Southend United19thSouthend-on-SeaRoots Hall12,392
Sunderland5thSunderlandStadium of Light48,707
Tranmere Rovers6th in League Two BirkenheadPrenton Park16,587
Wycombe Wanderers17thHigh WycombeAdams Park10,302

Teams promoted from League One

SeasonWinnerRunner-upPromoted Play-off Winner
2004–05Luton TownHull CitySheffield Wednesday
2005–06Southend UnitedColchester UnitedBarnsley
2006–07Scunthorpe UnitedBristol CityBlackpool
2007–08Swansea CityNottingham ForestDoncaster Rovers
2008–09Leicester CityPeterborough UnitedScunthorpe United
2009–10Norwich CityLeeds UnitedMillwall
2010–11Brighton & Hove AlbionSouthamptonPeterborough United
2011–12Charlton AthleticSheffield WednesdayHuddersfield Town
2012–13Doncaster RoversBournemouthYeovil Town
2013–14Wolverhampton WanderersBrentfordRotherham United
2014–15Bristol CityMilton Keynes DonsPreston North End
2015–16Wigan AthleticBurton AlbionBarnsley
2016–17Sheffield UnitedBolton WanderersMillwall
2017–18Wigan AthleticBlackburn RoversRotherham United
2018–19Luton TownBarnsleyCharlton Athletic
2019–20Coventry CityRotherham UnitedWycombe Wanderers

For past winners at this level before 2004, see List of winners of English Football League One and predecessors.

Play-off results

SeasonSemi-final Semi-final Final
2004–05Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 Brentford
Hartlepool United 2–0 Tranmere Rovers		Brentford 1–2 Sheffield Wednesday
Tranmere Rovers 2–0 Hartlepool United
Sheffield Wednesday 4–2 Hartlepool United
2005–06Barnsley 0–1 Huddersfield Town
Swansea City 1–1 Brentford		Huddersfield Town 1–3 Barnsley
Brentford 0–2 Swansea City		Barnsley 2–2 Swansea City
2006–07Yeovil Town 0–2 Nottingham Forest
Oldham Athletic 1–2 Blackpool		Nottingham Forest 2–5 Yeovil Town
Blackpool 3–1 Oldham Athletic		Blackpool 2–0 Yeovil Town
2007–08Southend United 0–0 Doncaster Rovers
Leeds United 1–2 Carlisle United		Doncaster Rovers 5–1 Southend United
Carlisle United 0–2 Leeds United		Leeds United 0–1 Doncaster Rovers
2008–09Scunthorpe United 1–1 Milton Keynes Dons
Millwall 1–0 Leeds United		Milton Keynes Dons 0–0 Scunthorpe United

Leeds United 1–1 Millwall		Scunthorpe United 3–2 Millwall
2009–10Swindon Town 2–1 Charlton Athletic
Huddersfield Town 0–0 Millwall		Charlton Athletic 2–1 Swindon Town

Millwall 2–0 Huddersfield Town		Millwall 1–0 Swindon Town
2010–11Bournemouth 1–1 Huddersfield Town
Milton Keynes Dons 3–2 Peterborough United		Huddersfield Town 3–3 Bournemouth

Peterborough United 2–0 Milton Keynes Dons		Huddersfield Town 0–3 Peterborough United
2011–12Stevenage 0–0 Sheffield United
Milton Keynes Dons 0–2 Huddersfield Town		Sheffield United 1–0 Stevenage
Huddersfield Town 1–2 Milton Keynes Dons		Huddersfield Town 0–0 Sheffield United
2012–13Sheffield United 1–0 Yeovil Town
Swindon Town 1–1 Brentford		Yeovil Town 2–0 Sheffield United
Brentford 3–3 Swindon Town
Brentford 1–2 Yeovil Town
2013–14Peterborough United 1–1 Leyton Orient
Preston North End 1–1 Rotherham United		Leyton Orient 2–1 Peterborough United
Rotherham United 3–1 Preston North End		Leyton Orient 2–2 Rotherham United
2014–15Chesterfield 0–1 Preston North End
Sheffield United 1–2 Swindon Town		Preston North End 3–0 Chesterfield
Swindon Town 5–5 Sheffield United		Preston North End 4–0 Swindon Town
2015–16Barnsley 3–0 Walsall
Bradford City 1–3 Millwall		Walsall 1–3 Barnsley
Millwall 1–1 Bradford City		Barnsley 3–1 Millwall
2016–17Millwall 0–0 Scunthorpe United
Bradford City 1–0 Fleetwood Town		Scunthorpe United 2–3 Millwall
Fleetwood Town 0–0 Bradford City		Bradford City 0–1 Millwall
2017–18Charlton Athletic 0–1 Shrewsbury Town
Scunthorpe United 2–2 Rotherham United		Shrewsbury Town 1–0 Charlton Athletic
Rotherham United 2–0 Scunthorpe United		Rotherham United 2–1 Shrewsbury Town
2018–19Doncaster Rovers 1–2 Charlton Athletic
Sunderland 1–0 Portsmouth		Charlton Athletic 2–3 Doncaster Rovers
Portsmouth 0–0 Sunderland		Charlton Athletic 2–1 Sunderland
2019–20Portsmouth 1–1 Oxford United
Fleetwood Town 1–4 Wycombe Wanderers		Oxford United 1–1 Portsmouth
Wycombe Wanderers 2–2 Fleetwood Town		Oxford United 1–2 Wycombe Wanderers

Relegated teams

Expelled in August 2019 after financial breaches.

Top scorers

Financial Fair Play

Starting from the 2012–13 season, a Financial Fair Play arrangement has been in place in all 3 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.