EFL League Two

Last updated

EFL League Two
EFL League Two Logo.svg
Founded2004;20 years ago (2004)
  • 1992–2004 (as Division Three)
  • 1958–1992 (as Division Four)
CountryEngland
Other club(s) fromWales
Number of clubs 24
Level on pyramid 4
Promotion to EFL League One
Relegation to National League
Domestic cup(s) FA Cup
League cup(s)
International cup(s)
Current champions Stockport County (1st title; 2nd Fourth tier title)
(2023–24)
Most championships Chesterfield (2 Fourth tier titles and 2 EFL League Two)
TV partners List of broadcasters
Website efl.com/league-two
Current: 2024–25 EFL League Two

The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional Association football league in England. EFL Two is the third division of the English Football League (EFL) and fourth-highest tier overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League, EFL Championship and the EFL One and is contested by 24 clubs.

Contents

Introduced for the 2004–05 English football season as Football League Two, it is a rebrand of the former Football League Third Division, [1] which itself is a rebrand of the now-defunct Football League Fourth Division prior to the 1992 launch of the Premier League.

As of the 2024–25 season, Newport County hold the longest tenure in this division following their promotion in the 2012–13 season. There are currently two former Premier League clubs competing in this division: Bradford City (1999–2001) and Swindon Town (1993–94).

The current holders are Stockport County.

Structure

There are 24 clubs in this division. Each club plays each of the other clubs twice (once at home and once away) for a total of 46 matches per season and is awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and no points for a loss. From these points a league table is constructed.

At the end of each season the top three teams, together with the winner of the play-offs between the teams which finished in the fourth to seventh positions, are promoted to EFL League One and are replaced by the four teams that finished at the bottom of that division.

Similarly, the two teams that finished at the bottom of League Two are relegated to the National League and are replaced by the team that finished first and the team that won the second through seventh place play-off in that division. Technically a team can be reprieved from relegation if the team replacing them does not have a ground suitable for League football, but in practice this is a non-factor because every team currently in the National League has a ground that meets the League criteria (and even if they did not, a ground-sharing arrangement with another team could be made until their stadium was upgraded). The other way that a team can be spared relegation is if another team either resigns or is expelled from the EFL.

Final league position is determined, in order, by points obtained, goal difference, goals scored, a mini-league of the results between two or more teams ranked using the previous three criteria, and finally a series of one or more play-off matches.

There is a mandatory wage cap in this division that limits spending on players' wages to 55% of club turnover.

Current members

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Accrington Stanley Accrington Crown Ground 5,450
AFC Wimbledon London (Wimbledon) Plough Lane 9,369
Barrow Barrow-in-Furness Holker Street 6,500
Bradford City Bradford Valley Parade 24,840
Bromley London (Bromley) Hayes Lane 5,300
Carlisle United Carlisle Brunton Park 17,949
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Whaddon Road 7,066
Chesterfield Chesterfield SMH Group Stadium 10,504
Colchester United Colchester Colchester Community Stadium 10,105
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Gresty Road 10,153
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Eco-Power Stadium 15,231
Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Highbury Stadium 5,327
Gillingham Gillingham Priestfield Stadium 11,582
Grimsby Town Cleethorpes Blundell Park 9,052
Harrogate Town Harrogate Wetherby Road 5,000
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Stadium MK 30,500
Morecambe Morecambe Mazuma Mobile Stadium 6,476
Newport County Newport Rodney Parade 7,850
Notts County Nottingham Meadow Lane 19,841
Port Vale Burslem Vale Park 15,036
Salford City Salford Moor Lane 5,108
Swindon Town Swindon County Ground 15,728
Tranmere Rovers Birkenhead Prenton Park 16,789
Walsall Walsall Bescot Stadium 11,300

    Teams promoted from League Two

    SeasonWinnerPointsRunner-upPointsThird placePointsPromoted via play-offLeague positionPoints
    2004–05 Yeovil Town 83 Scunthorpe United 80 Swansea City 80 Southend United 4th78
    2005–06 Carlisle United 86 Northampton Town 83 Leyton Orient 81 Cheltenham Town 5th72
    2006–07 Walsall 89 Hartlepool United 88 Swindon Town 85 Bristol Rovers 6th72
    2007–08 Milton Keynes Dons 97 Peterborough United 92 Hereford United 88 Stockport County 4th82
    2008–09 Brentford 85 Exeter City 79 Wycombe Wanderers 78 Gillingham 5th75
    2009–10 Notts County 93 Bournemouth 83 Rochdale 82 Dagenham & Redbridge 7th72
    2010–11 Chesterfield 86 Bury 81 Wycombe Wanderers 81 Stevenage 6th69
    2011–12 Swindon Town 93 Shrewsbury Town 88 Crawley Town 84 Crewe Alexandra 7th72
    2012–13 Gillingham 83 Rotherham United 79 Port Vale 78 Bradford City 7th69
    2013–14 Chesterfield 84 Scunthorpe United 81 Rochdale 81 Fleetwood Town 4th76
    2014–15 Burton Albion 94 Shrewsbury Town 89 Bury 85 Southend United 5th84
    2015–16 Northampton Town 99 Oxford United 86 Bristol Rovers 85 AFC Wimbledon 7th75
    2016–17 Portsmouth 87 Plymouth Argyle 87 Doncaster Rovers 85 Blackpool 7th70
    2017–18 Accrington Stanley 93 Luton Town 88 Wycombe Wanderers 84 Coventry City 6th75
    2018–19 Lincoln City 85 Bury 79 Milton Keynes Dons 79 Tranmere Rovers 6th73
    2019–20 [n 1] Swindon Town 88.32 Crewe Alexandra 85.56 Plymouth Argyle 84.64 Northampton Town 7th72.22
    2020–21 Cheltenham Town 82 Cambridge United 80 Bolton Wanderers 79 Morecambe 4th78
    2021–22 Forest Green Rovers 84 Exeter City 84 Bristol Rovers 80 Port Vale 5th78
    2022–23 Leyton Orient 91 Stevenage 85 Northampton Town 83 Carlisle United 5th76
    2023–24 Stockport County 92 Wrexham 88 Mansfield Town 86 Crawley Town 7th70
    1. The teams listed for this season were ranked using points per game following the curtailment of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

    Play-off results

    SeasonSemi-final (1st leg)Semi-final (2nd leg)Final
    2004–05 Lincoln City 1–0 Macclesfield Town
    Northampton Town 0–0 Southend United
    Macclesfield Town 1–1 Lincoln City
    Southend United 1–0 Northampton Town
    Lincoln City 0–2 Southend United
    2005–06 Lincoln City 0–1 Grimsby Town
    Wycombe Wanderers 1–2 Cheltenham Town
    Grimsby Town 2–1 Lincoln City
    Cheltenham Town 0–0 Wycombe Wanderers
    Grimsby Town 0–1 Cheltenham Town
    2006–07 Bristol Rovers 2–1 Lincoln City
    Shrewsbury Town 0–0 Milton Keynes Dons
    Lincoln City 3–5 Bristol Rovers
    Milton Keynes Dons 1–2 Shrewsbury Town
    Bristol Rovers 3–1 Shrewsbury Town
    2007–08 Darlington 2–1 Rochdale
    Wycombe Wanderers 1–1 Stockport County
    Rochdale 2–1 Darlington
    (Rochdale won 5–4 on penalties, a.e.t.)
    Stockport County 1–0 Wycombe Wanderers
    Rochdale 2–3 Stockport County
    2008–09 Shrewsbury Town 0–1 Bury
    Rochdale 0–0 Gillingham
    Bury 0–1 Shrewsbury Town
    (Shrewsbury won 4–3 on penalties, a.e.t.)
    Gillingham 2–1 Rochdale
    Gillingham 1–0 Shrewsbury Town
    2009–10 Dagenham & Redbridge 6–0 Morecambe
    Aldershot Town 0–1 Rotherham United
    Morecambe 2–1 Dagenham & Redbridge
    Rotherham United 2–0 Aldershot Town
    Dagenham & Redbridge 3–2 Rotherham United
    2010–11 Torquay United 2–0 Shrewsbury Town
    Stevenage 2–0 Accrington Stanley
    Shrewsbury Town 0–0 Torquay United
    Accrington Stanley 0–1 Stevenage
    Stevenage 1–0 Torquay United
    2011–12 Crewe Alexandra 1–0 Southend United
    Cheltenham Town 2–0 Torquay United
    Southend United 2–2 Crewe Alexandra
    Torquay United 1–2 Cheltenham Town
    Cheltenham Town 0–2 Crewe Alexandra
    2012–13 Bradford City 2–3 Burton Albion
    Northampton Town 1–0 Cheltenham Town
    Burton Albion 1–3 Bradford City
    Cheltenham Town 0–1 Northampton Town
    Bradford City 3–0 Northampton Town
    2013–14 Burton Albion 1–0 Southend United
    York City 0–1 Fleetwood Town
    Southend United 2–2 Burton Albion
    Fleetwood Town 0–0 York City
    Burton Albion 0–1 Fleetwood Town
    2014–15 Stevenage 1–1 Southend United
    Plymouth Argyle 2–3 Wycombe Wanderers
    Southend United 3–1 Stevenage
    (a.e.t.)
    Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 Plymouth Argyle
    Southend United 1–1 Wycombe Wanderers
    (Southend won 7–6 on penalties, a.e.t. )
    2015–16 Portsmouth 2–2 Plymouth Argyle
    AFC Wimbledon 1–0 Accrington Stanley
    Plymouth Argyle 1–0 Portsmouth
    Accrington Stanley 2–2 AFC Wimbledon
    (a.e.t.)
    AFC Wimbledon 2–0 Plymouth Argyle
    2016–17 Blackpool 3–2 Luton Town
    Carlisle United 3–3 Exeter City
    Luton Town 3–3 Blackpool
    Exeter City 3–2 Carlisle United
    Blackpool 2–1 Exeter City
    2017–18 Lincoln City 0–0 Exeter City
    Coventry City 1–1 Notts County
    Exeter City 3–1 Lincoln City
    Notts County 1–4 Coventry City
    Coventry City 3–1 Exeter City
    2018–19 Newport County 1–1 Mansfield Town
    Tranmere Rovers 1–0 Forest Green Rovers
    Mansfield Town 0–0 Newport County
    (Newport won 5–3 on penalties, a.e.t.)
    Forest Green Rovers 1–1 Tranmere Rovers
    Newport County 0–1 Tranmere Rovers
    (a.e.t.)
    2019–20 Colchester United 1–0 Exeter City
    Northampton Town 0–2 Cheltenham Town
    Exeter City 3–1 Colchester United
    Cheltenham Town 0–3 Northampton Town
    Exeter City 0–4 Northampton Town
    2020–21 Newport County 2–0 Forest Green Rovers
    Tranmere Rovers 1–2 Morecambe
    Forest Green Rovers 4–3 Newport County (a.e.t.)
    Morecambe 1–1 Tranmere Rovers
    Morecambe 1–0 Newport County
    2021–22 Mansfield Town 2–1 Northampton Town
    Swindon Town 2–1 Port Vale
    Northampton Town 0-1 Mansfield Town
    Port Vale 1–1 Swindon Town
    (Port Vale won 6–5 on penalties, a.e.t.)
    Mansfield Town 0–3 Port Vale
    2022–23 Salford City 1–0 Stockport County
    Bradford City 1–0 Carlisle United
    Stockport County 2–1 Salford City
    (Stockport County won 3–1 on penalties, a.e.t.)
    Carlisle United 3–1
    (a.e.t.) Bradford City
    Stockport County 1–1 Carlisle United
    (Carlisle won 5–4 on penalties, a.e.t. )
    2023–24 Crawley Town 3–0 Milton Keynes Dons
    Crewe Alexandra 0–2 Doncaster Rovers
    Milton Keynes Dons 1–5 Crawley Town
    Doncaster Rovers 0–2 Crewe Alexandra
    (Crewe Alexadra won 4-3 on penalties, a.e.t.)
    Crawley Town 2–0 Crewe Alexandra

    Relegated teams

    SeasonClubs
    2004–05 Kidderminster Harriers, Cambridge United
    2005–06 Oxford United, Rushden & Diamonds
    2006–07 Boston United, Torquay United
    2007–08 Mansfield Town, Wrexham
    2008–09 Chester City, Luton Town [2]
    2009–10 Darlington, Grimsby Town
    2010–11 Lincoln City, Stockport County
    2011–12 Macclesfield Town, Hereford United
    2012–13 Aldershot Town, Barnet
    2013–14 Bristol Rovers, Torquay United
    2014–15 Cheltenham Town, Tranmere Rovers
    2015–16 York City, Dagenham & Redbridge
    2016–17 Hartlepool United, Leyton Orient
    2017–18 Barnet, Chesterfield
    2018–19 Notts County, Yeovil Town
    2019–20 Macclesfield Town [a]
    2020–21 Southend United, Grimsby Town
    2021–22 Oldham Athletic, Scunthorpe United
    2022–23 Hartlepool United, Rochdale
    2023–24 Sutton United, Forest Green Rovers
    1. As a result of Bury's expulsion from League One, only one team was relegated to maintain League Two at 24 teams. [3]

    Top scorers

    SeasonTop scorer(s)Club(s)Goals
    2004–05 Flag of England.svg Phil Jevons Yeovil Town 27
    2005–06 Flag of England.svg Karl Hawley Carlisle United 22
    2006–07 Flag of England.svg Richie Barker Hartlepool United 21
    Flag of England.svg Izale McLeod Milton Keynes Dons
    2007–08 Flag of England.svg Aaron McLean Peterborough United 29
    2008–09 Flag of England.svg Grant Holt Shrewsbury Town 20
    Flag of England.svg Jack Lester Chesterfield
    2009–10 Flag of England.svg Lee Hughes Notts County 30
    2010–11 Flag of Jamaica.svg Clayton Donaldson Crewe Alexandra 28
    2011–12 Flag of England.svg Adebayo Akinfenwa Northampton Town 18
    Flag of England.svg Jack Midson AFC Wimbledon
    Flag of England.svg Izale McLeod Barnet
    Flag of England.svg Lewis Grabban Rotherham United
    2012–13 Flag of England.svg Tom Pope Port Vale 31
    2013–14 Flag of England.svg Sam Winnall Scunthorpe United 23
    2014–15 Flag of England.svg Matt Tubbs Portsmouth 21
    2015–16 Flag of England.svg Matty Taylor Bristol Rovers 27
    2016–17 Flag of England.svg John Akinde Barnet 26
    Flag of England.svg John Marquis Doncaster Rovers
    2017–18 Ulster Banner.svg Billy Kee Accrington Stanley 25
    2018–19 Flag of England.svg James Norwood Tranmere Rovers 29
    2019–20 Flag of Ireland.svg Eoin Doyle Bradford City, Swindon Town 25
    2020–21 Flag of England.svg Paul Mullin Cambridge United 32
    2021–22 Flag of England.svg Dom Telford Newport County 25
    2022–23 Flag of England.svg Andy Cook Bradford City 28
    2023–24 Flag of England.svg Macaulay Langstaff Notts County 28

    Attendances

    EL League Two Average Attendances.png

    League Two is the most watched fourth-tier domestic sports league in the world, and the 14th most watched football league in Europe of any tier. [4] The total number of spectators who watched a League Two game in the 2022–23 season was 3,191,719.

    Since the restructuring into League Two in 2004, the average attendance across all seasons is 4,602. The highest average attendance was 6,274 in the 2023–24 season. The highest average attendance for an individual club was achieved in the 2022–23; 17,967 for Bradford City. The lowest average attendance was 3,856 in the 2009–10 season.

    SeasonLeague average attendanceHighest average
    ClubAttendance
    2004–05 4,499 Swansea City 8,458 [5]
    2005–06 4,194 Carlisle United 7,218 [6]
    2006–07 4,130 Swindon Town 7,419 [7]
    2007–08 4,346 Bradford City 13,659 [8]
    2008–09 4,185Bradford City12,704 [9]
    2009–10 3,856Bradford City11,423 [10]
    2010–11 4,166Bradford City11,128 [11]
    2011–12 4,407Bradford City10,170 [12]
    2012–13 4,390Bradford City11,999 [13]
    2013–14 4,352 Portsmouth 15,460 [14]
    2014–15 4,676Portsmouth15,241 [15]
    2015–16 4,881Portsmouth16,442 [16]
    2016–17 4,751Portsmouth16,822 [17]
    2017–18 4,491 Coventry City 11,218 [18]
    2018–19 4,467 Lincoln City 9,005 [19]
    2019–20 4,687Bradford City14,253 [20]
    2020–21 No attendances due to COVID-19 pandemic
    2021–22 4,907Bradford City15,450 [21]
    2022–23 5,786Bradford City17,967 [22]
    2023–24 6,274Bradford City17,547 [23]

    Historic performance

    Since the restructuring into League Two in 2004, 69 teams have spent at least one season in the division, including 2 of the 20 teams in the 2024–25 Premier League.

    Morecambe have spent the longest in League Two; 16 seasons in total, as well as having had the longest spell in the division, 13 consecutive seasons between 2005 and 2019. Newport County have the current longest tenure, with 12 consecutive seasons.

    Northampton Town and Bristol Rovers have each been promoted four times from League Two. There have been 18 different champions, with Swindon Town and Chesterfield champions on two occasions. 19 teams have been both promoted and relegated from League Two.

    Key


    ClubTotal SeasonsNumber of SpellsLongest Spell (Seasons)Highest PositionLowest PositionSeason
    2004–05
    2005–06
    2006–07
    2007–08
    2008–09
    2009–10
    2010–11
    2011–12
    2012–13
    2013–14
    2014–15
    2015–16
    2016–17
    2017–18
    2018–19
    2019–20
    2020–21
    2021–22
    2022–23
    2023–24
    2024–25
    Accrington Stanley 1421212020171615514181517413117
    AFC Bournemouth 212221212
    AFC Wimbledon 8257211620201572110
    Aldershot Town 515624156141124
    Barnet 112812231814121721222223151523
    Barrow 515822212298
    Blackpool 111777
    Bolton Wanderers 111333
    Boston United 3131123161123
    Bradford City 122661810914181879151469
    Brentford 212114141
    Bristol Rovers 8433231212613142333
    Bromley 111
    Burton Albion 616119131917461
    Bury 1037221171921134921232
    Cambridge United 82722424199111221162
    Carlisle United 113912012010610111810205
    Cheltenham Town 1446123145221765172321171641
    Chester City 51515232015182223
    Chesterfield 844124810818124
    Colchester United 9186228138620152022
    Coventry City 111666
    Crawley Town 1029322320191419131212227
    Crewe Alexandra 1034217181071715122136
    Dagenham & Redbridge 8257232087192291423
    Darlington 616624881161224
    Doncaster Rovers 4233183185
    Exeter City 11210216210161014549592
    Fleetwood Town 322413134
    Forest Green Rovers 625124215106124
    Gillingham 73311758811712
    Grimsby Town 14364241841516222314181715241121
    Harrogate Town 515131917191913
    Hartlepool United 7342232192216231723
    Hereford United 523323163162123
    Kidderminster Harriers 111232323
    Leyton Orient 8341241138241711131
    Lincoln City 9271236751513202371
    Luton Town 5242242481142
    Macclesfield Town 10285245172219201915242224
    Mansfield Town 152113231316172311211212842116783
    Milton Keynes Dons 532144134
    Morecambe 162144221111420151618112118221822415
    Newport County 121125221492222117145111518
    Northampton Town 13471217211162062112115743
    Notts County 123612319211321191171652314
    Oldham Athletic 414142314191823
    Oxford United 826223152312998132
    Peterborough United 3132109102
    Plymouth Argyle 7262212121107523
    Port Vale 113532018101112320208135
    Portsmouth 414116131661
    Rochdale 103632491495631231824
    Rotherham United 61621491459102
    Rushden & Diamonds 21222242224
    Salford City 61672011810720
    Scunthorpe United 53322422202224
    Shrewsbury Town 9282212110718712422
    Southend United 7354234134115523
    Stevenage 102922366181016102314212
    Stockport County 63312422842441
    Sunderland 51572758969
    Sutton United 31382381423
    Swansea City 111333
    Swindon Town 94411931913161019
    Torquay United 725524202417751924
    Tranmere Rovers 735624246791216
    Walsall 72611911219161611
    Wrexham 4232241319242
    Wycombe Wanderers 123632210612733152241393
    Yeovil Town 524124119201924
    York City 4147241771824

    See also

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    20. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2019-2020 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
    21. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2021-2022 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
    22. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2022-2023 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
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