Country England Level on pyramid 3 Relegation to League Two | Number of teams 24 Promotion to Championship | |
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Founded 2004; 13 years ago (2004)1992–2004 (as Division Two)1958–1992 (as Division Three)1921–1958 (as Division Three North/South)1920–1921 (as Division Three) | ||
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division of the English Football League and the third tier in the English football league system.
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League One was introduced for the 2004–05 season. It was previously known as the Football League Second Division and prior to the advent of the Premier League, the Football League Third Division.
At present (2016–17 season), Oldham Athletic hold the longest tenure in League One, last being out of the division in the 1996–97 season when they were relegated from the First Division. There are currently eight former Premier League clubs competing in the League One, namely Bradford City, Coventry City, Oldham Athletic, Sheffield United, Swindon Town, and as of the 2016–17 season, Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic following their 2016 relegation. AFC Wimbledon following their promotion from League Two made their first appearance in the league.
Structure
There are 24 clubs in League One. Each club plays every other club twice (once at home 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 of the results between two or more clubs (ranked using the previous three criteria) 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
Sky Sports currently show live League One matches with highlights shown on Channel 5 on their programme called Football League Tonight, which also broadcasts highlights of EFL Championship and EFL League Two matches. Highlights of all games in the Football League are also available to view separately on the Sky Sports website. In Sweden, TV4 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, Setanta Sports Australia broadcasts live Championship matches. In the USA and surrounding countries including Cuba, some EFL Championship, EFL League One and EFL League Two games are shown on beIN Sports.
Current members
The following 24 clubs are competing in League One during the 2016–17 season.
Teams promoted from League One
For past winners at this level before 2004, see List of winners of English Football League One and predecessors.
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.