EFL League One facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
EFL League One

Founded	2004; 21 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)
Country	England
Number of teams	24
Level on pyramid	3
Promotion to	EFL Championship
Relegation to	EFL League Two
Domestic cup(s)	FA Cup
League cup(s)	EFL Cup EFL Trophy
International cup(s)	UEFA Europa League (via FA Cup) UEFA Europa Conference League (via EFL Cup)
Current champions	Portsmouth 1st League One title 4th 3rd tier title (2023–24)
Most championships	Plymouth Argyle (5 titles total) Wigan Athletic (3 League One titles)
TV partners	List of broadcasters

The English Football League One, often called League One, is a super exciting football league in England. It's the third-highest level of football in the country. Think of it like a stepping stone: teams here are trying their best to move up to the next level, the EFL Championship, and eventually, the top league, the Premier League!

This league started in 2004. Before that, it had different names like the Football League Second Division. Many famous clubs have played in League One. For example, eight teams currently in this division have played in the Premier League before. These include Barnsley, Birmingham City, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Huddersfield Town, Reading, and Wigan Athletic.

How the League Works

There are 24 football clubs in League One. Each team plays every other team twice during the season. That means they play one game at home and one game away.

Points and Standings

• If a team wins a game, they get 3 points.
• If a game is a draw (tied score), both teams get 1 point.
• If a team loses, they get 0 points.

At the end of the season, teams are ranked in a table. The team with the most points is at the top! If teams have the same points, other things like how many goals they scored or stopped (goal difference) help decide who ranks higher.

Moving Up and Down

Football is all about moving up or down!

• The top two teams in League One automatically get promoted to the EFL Championship.
• Teams that finish from 3rd to 6th place play in special games called play-offs. The winner of these play-offs also gets promoted to the Championship!
• The three teams that finish at the bottom of the Championship come down to League One.

• At the same time, the four teams that finish at the very bottom of League One get relegated (moved down) to EFL League Two.
• The top teams from League Two then move up to League One. It's a constant cycle of teams trying to climb the ladder!

Current Members

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

League One Champions and Promoted Teams

This table shows the teams that have been promoted from League One each season. The "Winner" is the team that finished first. The "Runner-up" finished second. The "Play-off Winner" is the team that won the special play-off games to get promoted.

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

Play-off Finals

The play-offs are exciting games at the end of the season. Teams finishing 3rd to 6th play against each other to win the last promotion spot. Here are the results of the final matches:

Top Goal Scorers

These are the players who scored the most goals in League One each season.

Season	Top scorer(s)	Club(s)	Goals
2004–05	Stuart Elliott	Hull City	27
	Dean Windass	Bradford City
2005–06	Freddy Eastwood	Southend United	23
	Billy Sharp	Scunthorpe United
2006–07	Billy Sharp	Scunthorpe United	30
2007–08	Jason Scotland	Swansea City	24
2008–09	Simon Cox	Swindon Town	29
	Rickie Lambert	Bristol Rovers
2009–10	Rickie Lambert	Southampton	30
2010–11	Craig Mackail-Smith	Peterborough United	27
2011–12	Jordan Rhodes	Huddersfield Town	36
2012–13	Paddy Madden	Yeovil Town	22
2013–14	Sam Baldock	Bristol City	24
2014–15	Joe Garner	Preston North End	26
2015–16	Will Grigg	Wigan Athletic	25
2016–17	Billy Sharp	Sheffield United	30
2017–18	Jack Marriott	Peterborough United	27
2018–19	James Collins	Luton Town	25
2019–20	Ivan Toney	Peterborough United	24
2020–21	Jonson Clarke-Harris	Peterborough United	31
2021–22	Will Keane	Wigan Athletic	26
2022–23	Conor Chaplin	Ipswich Town	26
	Jonson Clarke-Harris	Peterborough United
2023-24	Alfie May	Charlton Athletic	23

In 35 games. Season was shorter because of a global health situation.

Fan Attendance

Average attendances in EFL League One over the years.

League One is super popular! It's the most-watched third-tier sports league in the world. In the 2022–23 season, over 5.3 million fans watched games. That's an average of 10,613 people at each match! This makes it one of the top ten most-watched leagues in Europe.

The highest average attendance for a single club was Sunderland in the 2018–19 season, with 32,157 fans per game. They also set a record for a single game that season, when 46,039 people watched them play against Bradford City.

Financial Rules

To make sure clubs are managed well, League One has rules about how much money teams can spend on player salaries. This is called the Salary Cost Management Protocol. Clubs can spend a maximum of 60% of their income on player wages. If a club breaks this rule, they might not be allowed to buy new players for a while. This helps keep the league fair and financially healthy for all teams.

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot.

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