English Football League facts for kids
 |
|
| Founded | 17 April 1888 |
|---|---|
| Country | England (68 teams) |
| Other club(s) from | Wales (4 teams) |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Divisions | |
| Number of teams | 72 |
| Level on pyramid | 2–4 |
| Promotion to | Premier League |
| Relegation to | National League |
| Domestic cup(s) | FA Cup |
| League cup(s) |
|
| Current champions | Leicester City (2023–24) |
| TV partners |
|
| Website | EFL.com |
The English Football League (EFL) is a group of professional football clubs in England and Wales. It started in 1888 as the Football League. This makes it the oldest football league in the world.
For a long time, it was the top football league in England. But in 1992, the top 22 clubs left to create the Premier League. In 2016, the Football League changed its name to the "English Football League" (EFL).
The EFL has three main parts: the Championship, League One, and League Two. Each part has 24 clubs, making 72 clubs in total. Teams can move up (promotion) or down (relegation) between these parts. The best teams from the Championship can move up to the Premier League. The teams at the bottom of League Two can move down to the National League. Currently, four EFL clubs are from Wales: Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham, and Newport County. All other 72 clubs are in England.
The English Football League also runs two exciting cup competitions. These are the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The main office for the Football League is in Preston. Its business office is in London.
Contents
What is the English Football League?
The Football League includes 68 professional football clubs from England and 4 from Wales. It runs the oldest professional football league competition anywhere in the world. It also organizes two knockout cup competitions: the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy.
William McGregor, a director from Aston Villa, started the Football League in 1888. It began with just twelve clubs. The league grew steadily, adding more divisions. By 1950, it had 92 clubs.
In 1992, the biggest clubs left to form the Premier League. This was to earn more money. So, the Football League no longer has the top 20 clubs. However, teams still move up and down between the Football League and the Premier League. In total, 136 teams have played in the Football League up to 2013. This includes teams that later joined the Premier League.
How Do EFL Competitions Work?
League Divisions and Matches
The EFL has 72 clubs. They are split into three divisions: the EFL Championship, EFL League One, and EFL League Two. These divisions used to have different names for sponsorship reasons.
Each division has 24 clubs. In a season, every club plays every other club in its division twice. One game is at their home stadium, and the other is away. This means each team plays a total of 46 games per season.
Teams get three points for winning a game. They get one point for a draw. They get no points for losing.
Promotion and Relegation Rules
At the end of the season, teams at the top of their division can move up. This is called promotion. Teams at the bottom can move down, which is called relegation.
- From the Championship, three clubs move up to the Premier League. The three lowest Premier League clubs take their places.
- From League Two, two clubs move down to the National League. Two teams from the National League then join League Two.
Here is a quick look at how promotion and relegation work:
| Division | Promoted directly | Promoted via playoffs | Relegated |
|---|---|---|---|
| EFL Championship | Top two clubs | One from 3rd to 6th-place finishers | Bottom three clubs |
| EFL League One | Top two clubs | One from 3rd to 6th-place finishers | Bottom four clubs |
| EFL League Two | Top three clubs | One from 4th to 7th-place finishers | Bottom two clubs |
To keep things exciting, one promotion spot from each division is decided by playoffs. Four clubs compete in these playoffs at the end of the season. This means a team finishing sixth in the Championship or League One, or seventh in League Two, could still get promoted.
Sometimes, clubs can lose points. This happens if they have money problems. If a club has serious financial issues before March 31, they lose twelve points. If it happens later, the points deduction might apply next season. Clubs also lose points if they use a player who is not allowed to play.
Cup Competitions
The EFL runs two knockout cup competitions. These are the EFL Cup (also called the Carabao Cup) and the EFL Trophy (also called the Bristol Street Motors Trophy). These names come from their sponsors.
The EFL Cup started in 1960. All EFL and Premier League clubs can play in it. The winner gets to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The EFL Trophy started in 1983. Only clubs from League One and League Two can play in this one.
History of the Football League
Football became professional on July 20, 1885. Before this, many clubs paid players secretly. This went against the rules of the amateur Football Association. As more clubs became professional, they needed a steady way to earn money. Games were often arranged randomly.
William McGregor, a director at Aston Villa, wanted to fix this. On March 22, 1888, he wrote to several clubs. He suggested creating a league competition. This would guarantee a certain number of games each season.
The first meeting happened in London on March 23, 1888. The Football League was officially created in Manchester on April 17. The name "The Football League" was suggested by Major William Sudell. It was quickly agreed upon.
The first season of the Football League began on September 8, 1888. It had twelve clubs from the Midlands and northern England. These included Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, and Preston North End.
Each club played every other club twice. Teams got two points for a win and one for a draw. This system was decided after the season started. Preston North End won the first league title without losing a game. They also won the FA Cup, achieving the first "double." Teams at the bottom had to ask to rejoin the league each year.
Adding More Divisions
In 1892, a new Second Division was formed. This happened when the Football Alliance, another league, joined the Football League. The original division became the First Division. The Second Division started with twelve clubs.
Over the next few years, more clubs joined. By 1894, the Second Division had fifteen clubs. In 1898, automatic promotion and relegation were introduced. This meant teams moved up or down without needing a vote. Both divisions then grew to eighteen clubs.
Early 1900s Football
In the early 1900s, more clubs from the north became successful. These included Newcastle United and Manchester United. By 1905, both the First and Second Divisions had 20 clubs.
Clubs from southern England, like Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, also joined. However, it took until 1931 for a southern club, Arsenal, to win the league.
No single English club has stayed in the top division for all 104 years it existed as the top league. Everton came closest, missing only four seasons.
After the World Wars
The League stopped playing for four seasons during World War I. It started again in 1919. Both the First and Second Divisions grew to 22 clubs.
In 1920, clubs from the Southern League joined. They formed a new Third Division. In 1921, this became the Third Division South. A new Third Division North was also added. One club from each Third Division would move up to the Second Division.
The League stopped again for seven seasons during World War II. After the war, the Third Divisions grew to 24 clubs each in 1950. This brought the total number of League clubs to 92. In 1958, the regional Third Divisions were replaced. They became a national Third Division and a Fourth Division.
Important changes in football included using white balls in 1951. The first game played under floodlights was in 1956. This allowed for evening matches during the week.
The biggest change was a new cup competition, the Football League Cup. It started in 1960. This gave clubs a new way to earn money. Aston Villa won the first one. Substitutes were first allowed in 1965.
The 1970s and Beyond
The first League game played on a Sunday was in 1974. It was between Millwall and Fulham.
From 1976, teams with the same points were separated by "goal difference." This is the number of goals scored minus goals conceded. This encouraged teams to play more offensively. In 1989, Arsenal won the league over Liverpool on goal difference in a very dramatic final game.
In the 1970s, Derby County and Nottingham Forest won their first league titles. Nottingham Forest's win in 1978 was the last time a team won the top division for the first time before the Premier League started.
The 1980s: Three Points for a Win
In 1981, a big change happened: teams started getting three points for a win instead of two. This was to make games more exciting and encourage attacking play.
In the 1980s, fewer people attended games. This was due to money problems and hooliganism. Many clubs faced financial difficulties. In 1985, English clubs were banned from European competitions. This happened after a tragic event involving fans at a European Cup final in Belgium.
Playoffs were introduced in 1986. This meant more clubs had a chance for promotion until the end of the season. Also, automatic promotion and relegation between the Fourth Division and the Football Conference began. This connected the League to the wider football pyramid.
The League grew to 93 clubs in 1991. However, two clubs, Aldershot and Maidstone United, went out of business in 1992. This meant the League stayed at 92 clubs.
Money became a huge factor in English football. Player transfers started costing millions of pounds. The idea of a new league that would bring in more money began to grow.
1992: The Premier League is Born
During the 1991–92 season, the top clubs in the First Division left the Football League. On February 20, 1992, they formed the Premier League. This new league was a separate company. It could make its own deals for TV and sponsors. The goal was to bring more money into English football. This would help English clubs compete better in Europe.
The Football League now had three divisions instead of four. The old Second Division became the First Division. The Third Division became the Second Division. The Fourth Division became the Third Division. The system of promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the Football League stayed the same.
Changes from 1992 to 2004
After the Premier League started, it became harder for newly promoted clubs to stay in the top league. Many would go straight back down. However, some clubs like Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United did well.
Many Football League clubs faced money problems during this time. This was partly due to losing money from Premier League relegation. Also, a TV company called ITV Digital went out of business in 2002. This cost League clubs a lot of money.
In 2003, Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes, about 70 miles away. This was a very unusual move. Many fans then started a new club called AFC Wimbledon. The club that moved changed its name to Milton Keynes Dons in 2004.
2004: A New Look for the Football League
The 2004–05 season brought a big change. The Football League renamed its divisions:
- The First Division became the Football League Championship.
- The Second Division became Football League One.
- The Third Division became Football League Two.
Coca-Cola also became the new main sponsor.
2016: The EFL Rebranding
On November 12, 2015, the Football League announced another big change. It would officially be called the English Football League, or EFL. This change started from the 2016–17 season.
The EFL got a new logo. It is a circle made of three groups of 24 smaller circles. The three groups represent the three divisions. The 24 circles in each group represent the 72 clubs in the league. Each club also got its own special version of the logo.
Shaun Harvey, the EFL Chief Executive, said the new name shows how important the clubs are to English professional football. He also said the new look would help the league connect with more fans and partners.
Recent Changes and Plans
In 2019, the EFL looked at its financial rules. This happened after two clubs, Bury and Bolton Wanderers, had serious money problems.
In 2020, a plan called "Project Big Picture" was suggested. It aimed to bring the top Premier League clubs and the EFL closer. However, this plan was not approved.
Current EFL Clubs
There have been 144 Football League members since 1888. The map below shows where the current 72 clubs are located.
Championship Clubs
- Birmingham City
- Blackburn Rovers
- Bristol City
- Cardiff City
- Coventry City
- Huddersfield Town
- Hull City
- Ipswich Town
- Leeds United
- Leicester City
- Middlesbrough
- Millwall
- Norwich City
- Plymouth Argyle
- Preston North End
- Queens Park Rangers
- Rotherham United
- Sheffield Wednesday
- Southampton
- Stoke City
- Sunderland
- Swansea City
- Watford
- West Bromwich Albion
League One Clubs
- Barnsley
- Blackpool
- Bolton Wanderers
- Bristol Rovers
- Burton Albion
- Cambridge United
- Carlisle United
- Charlton Athletic
- Cheltenham Town
- Derby County
- Exeter City
- Fleetwood Town
- Leyton Orient
- Lincoln City
- Northampton Town
- Oxford United
- Peterborough United
- Portsmouth
- Port Vale
- Reading
- Shrewsbury Town
- Stevenage
- Wigan Athletic
- Wycombe Wanderers
League Two Clubs
- Accrington Stanley
- AFC Wimbledon
- Barrow
- Bradford City
- Colchester United
- Crawley Town
- Crewe Alexandra
- Doncaster Rovers
- Forest Green Rovers
- Gillingham
- Grimsby Town
- Harrogate Town
- Mansfield Town
- Milton Keynes Dons
- Morecambe
- Newport County
- Notts County
- Salford City
- Stockport County
- Sutton United
- Swindon Town
- Tranmere Rovers
- Walsall
- Wrexham
Past League Winners
Here are the past champions of the Football League divisions. Teams that won both the League and the FA Cup in the same season are highlighted in bold.
1888–1892: One Division
When the Football League first started, all 12 clubs played in just one division.
| No. | Season | Champions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1888–89 | Preston North End |
| 2 | 1889–90 | Preston North End |
| 3 | 1890–91 | Everton |
| 4 | 1891–92 | Sunderland |
1892–1920: First and Second Divisions
In 1892, the Football League added clubs from another league, the Football Alliance. This created enough teams for a second division. The original division became the First Division, and the new one was the Second Division.
1920–1921: Adding the Third Division
In 1920, the Football League added clubs from the Southern League. These clubs formed a new Third Division.
| No. | Season | First Division champions | Second Division champions | Third Division champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 1920–21 | Burnley | Birmingham | Crystal Palace |
1921–1958: North and South Third Divisions
After one season, the League expanded again. It added more clubs from northern England. The Third Division was split into Third Division North and Third Division South.
1958–1992: National Third and Fourth Divisions
In 1958, the regional Third Divisions were replaced by national Third and Fourth Divisions.
1992–2004: After Premier League Formation
When the Premier League started, the Football League no longer had the top division. So, the divisions were renamed. The Second Division became the First Division, and so on.
| No. | Season | First Division champions | Second Division champions | Third Division champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 1992–93 | Newcastle United | Stoke City | Cardiff City |
| 96 | 1993–94 | Crystal Palace | Reading | Shrewsbury Town |
| 97 | 1994–95 | Middlesbrough | Birmingham City | Carlisle United |
| 98 | 1995–96 | Sunderland | Swindon Town | Preston North End |
| 99 | 1996–97 | Bolton Wanderers | Bury | Wigan Athletic |
| 100 | 1997–98 | Nottingham Forest | Watford | Notts County |
| 101 | 1998–99 | Sunderland | Fulham | Brentford |
| 102 | 1999–2000 | Charlton Athletic | Preston North End | Swansea City |
| 103 | 2000–01 | Fulham | Millwall | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 104 | 2001–02 | Manchester City | Brighton & Hove Albion | Plymouth Argyle |
| 105 | 2002–03 | Portsmouth | Wigan Athletic | Rushden & Diamonds |
| 106 | 2003–04 | Norwich City | Plymouth Argyle | Doncaster Rovers |
2004–Present: EFL Championship, League One, League Two
In 2004, the Football League renamed its divisions to their current names: Championship, League One, and League Two.
Football League Play-offs
The Football League play-offs are special games at the end of the season. They decide the last team to be promoted from each of the three divisions. This makes the end of the season more exciting for many clubs.
The play-off system started in 1987. At first, it involved teams from different divisions. But from 1989, it changed. Now, the four teams just below the automatic promotion spots play each other. They play two semi-finals and then a final. The team that wins the final gets promoted.
Since 1990, the final is a single match, not two games. This format is still used today.
Play-off Winners by Season
- 1: Swindon was not allowed to go to the First Division due to financial issues. Sunderland took their place instead.
League Sponsors Over Time
Since 1983, the League has had different sponsors for its main competition. Here's how the League's name changed with each sponsor:
| Years | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1983–1986 | Canon | Canon League |
| 1986–1987 | Today | Today League |
| 1987–1993 | Barclays | Barclays LeagueA |
| 1993–1996 | Endsleigh | Endsleigh League |
| 1996–2004 | Nationwide | Nationwide Football League |
| 2004–2010 | Coca-Cola | Coca-Cola Football League |
| 2010–2013 | npower | npower Football League |
| 2013–2016 | Sky Bet | Sky Bet Football League |
| 2016–2029 | Sky Bet EFL |
- A After the Premier League started in 1992, Barclays also sponsored the new top division.
After the Premier League formed, the Football League focused on its own 72 clubs. It worked to make sure clubs were financially healthy. In 2004, the League rebranded its divisions. This happened with a new sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. The current sponsor, Sky Bet, has special trophies for the league.
How to Watch EFL Matches
Television is a big source of money for the EFL. In the 1980s, different TV channels competed to show League matches. Then, satellite TV company British Sky Broadcasting (Sky TV) arrived. They paid huge amounts of money for exclusive rights.
When the Premier League formed in 1992, they signed a deal with Sky TV. This meant the Football League lost its best clubs and a lot of TV money. This problem got worse in 2002 when ITV Digital, a TV rights holder, went out of business. This cost League clubs millions of pounds.
However, the League has signed new deals since then. In 2007, they made a £264 million deal with Sky and the BBC. This covered Football League, League Cup, and EFL Trophy matches. Sky now shows most of the games. The BBC used to show some live matches and highlights.
In 2012, Sky Sports signed a new deal to show all matches. The BBC stopped showing live games but continued with a highlights show. In 2017, Talksport got the rights to broadcast EFL matches on national radio. Many local radio stations also broadcast games.
In 2018, Sky Sports signed a new five-year deal. They would show 138 league matches per season. In 2023, Sky Sports agreed to an even bigger deal. From 2024–25 to 2028–29, they will show over 1,000 matches. This includes games from all three divisions, play-offs, the Carabao Cup, and the EFL Trophy.
Highlights Programmes
| Highlights programme | Duration | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|
| Football League Extra | 1994–95 to 2003–04 | ITV |
| The Championship* | 2004–05 to 2008–09 | |
| The Football League Show | 2009–10 to 2014–15 | BBC One |
| Football League Tonight** | 2015–16 to 2017–18 | Channel 5 |
| EFL on Quest | 2018–19 to 2021–22 | Quest |
| English Football League Highlights | 2022– | ITV4 |
*Between January 2008 to May 2008, the programme was renamed Championship Goals. **The programme was split into two shows part way through the 2015/16 season, and renamed 'The Championship' for Championship highlights, and 'Goal Rush' for League One and League Two highlights.
How the EFL is Managed
The EFL is run like a company. The 72 member clubs are like its owners. In 2022, the EFL earned over £190 million. Most of this money came from TV deals.
EFL Board of Directors
The EFL Board of Directors guides the organization. It has nine directors. Six of them are chosen by the clubs from the different divisions. Three directors are from Championship clubs, two from League One, and one from League Two. The other three directors are independent.
Current members include:
- Rick Parry – Chairman
- Trevor Birch – Chief Executive
- Steve Kavanagh
- Peter Ridsdale
- Neil Bausor
- Jez Moxey
- Steven Curwood
- Charles Grant
Past Presidents
The EFL has had many presidents over the years, guiding its growth and changes.
- William McGregor 1892–1894
- John Bentley 1894–1910
- John McKenna 1910–1936
- Charles Sutcliffe 1936–1939
- Will Cuff 1939–1949
- Arthur Drewry 1949–1955
- Arthur Oakley 1955–1957
- Joe Richards 1957–1966
- Len Shipman 1966–1974
- Lord Westwood 1974–1981
- Jack Dunnett 1981–1986
- Philip Carter 1986–1988
- Bill Fox 1988–1991
Images for kids
-
Preston North End FC, the first champions in 1888.
-
The Aston Villa team in 1897, after winning both the FA Cup and the Football League.
- Football DataCo
- Football League 100 Legends
- Football League Awards
- List of English football championship winning managers
- List of English Football League managers by date of appointment
- List of sports attendance figures
- Premier League–Football League gulf
See also
In Spanish: English Football League para niños
