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EFL League Two
EFL League Two Logo.svg
Founded 2004; 20 years ago (2004)
  • 1992–2004 (as Division Three)
  • 1958–1992 (as Division Four)
Country England
Other club(s) from Wales
Number of teams 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 (4 Fourth tier titles and 2 EFL League Two titles)
Swindon Town (2 EFL League Two titles each)
TV partners List of broadcasters

The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two in England and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is the third and lowest division of the English Football League (EFL) and fourth-highest tier overall in the English football league system.

Introduced for the 2004–05 English football season as Football League Two, it is a rebrand of the former Football League Third Division, 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.
Team Location Stadium Capacity
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

Season Winner Points Runner-up Points Third place Points Promoted via play-off League position Points
2004–05 Yeovil Town 83 Scunthorpe United 80 Swansea City 80 Southend United 4th 78
2005–06 Carlisle United 86 Northampton Town 83 Leyton Orient 81 Cheltenham Town 5th 72
2006–07 Walsall 89 Hartlepool United 88 Swindon Town 85 Bristol Rovers 6th 72
2007–08 Milton Keynes Dons 97 Peterborough United 92 Hereford United 88 Stockport County 4th 82
2008–09 Brentford 85 Exeter City 79 Wycombe Wanderers 78 Gillingham 5th 75
2009–10 Notts County 93 Bournemouth 83 Rochdale 82 Dagenham & Redbridge 7th 72
2010–11 Chesterfield 86 Bury 81 Wycombe Wanderers 81 Stevenage 6th 69
2011–12 Swindon Town 93 Shrewsbury Town 88 Crawley Town 84 Crewe Alexandra 7th 72
2012–13 Gillingham 83 Rotherham United 79 Port Vale 78 Bradford City 7th 69
2013–14 Chesterfield 84 Scunthorpe United 81 Rochdale 81 Fleetwood Town 4th 76
2014–15 Burton Albion 94 Shrewsbury Town 89 Bury 85 Southend United 5th 84
2015–16 Northampton Town 99 Oxford United 86 Bristol Rovers 85 AFC Wimbledon 7th 75
2016–17 Portsmouth 87 Plymouth Argyle 87 Doncaster Rovers 85 Blackpool 7th 70
2017–18 Accrington Stanley 93 Luton Town 88 Wycombe Wanderers 84 Coventry City 6th 75
2018–19 Lincoln City 85 Bury 79 Milton Keynes Dons 79 Tranmere Rovers 6th 73
2019–20 Swindon Town 88.32 Crewe Alexandra 85.56 Plymouth Argyle 84.64 Northampton Town 7th 72.22
2020–21 Cheltenham Town 82 Cambridge United 80 Bolton Wanderers 79 Morecambe 4th 78
2021–22 Forest Green Rovers 84 Exeter City 84 Bristol Rovers 80 Port Vale 5th 78
2022–23 Leyton Orient 91 Stevenage 85 Northampton Town 83 Carlisle United 5th 76
2023–24 Stockport County 92 Wrexham 88 Mansfield Town 86 Crawley Town 7th 70

Play-off results

Season Semi-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

Season Clubs
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
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
2020–21 Southend United, Grimsby Town
2021–22 Oldham Athletic, Scunthorpe United
2022–23 Hartlepool United, Rochdale
2023–24 Sutton United, Forest Green Rovers

Top scorers

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

Attendances

EL League Two Average Attendances

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. 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.

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

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

  •        current season Teams with this background and symbol in the "Club" column will be competing in the 2024–25 EFL League Two
  •        PremierLeague Team will be competing in the 2024–25 Premier League
  •        The club competed in League Two during that season (the number is the club's final league position)
Club Total Seasons Number of Spells Longest Spell (Seasons) Highest Position Lowest Position Season
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 current season 14 2 12 1 20 20 17 16 15 5 14 18 15 17 4 13 1 17
AFC Bournemouth PremierLeague 2 1 2 2 21 21 2
AFC Wimbledon current season 8 2 5 7 21 16 20 20 15 7 21 10
Aldershot Town 5 1 5 6 24 15 6 14 11 24
Barnet 11 2 8 12 23 18 14 12 17 21 22 22 23 15 15 23
Barrow current season 5 1 5 8 22 21 22 9 8
Blackpool 1 1 1 7 7 7
Bolton Wanderers 1 1 1 3 3 3
Boston United 3 1 3 11 23 16 11 23
Bradford City current season 12 2 6 6 18 10 9 14 18 18 7 9 15 14 6 9
Brentford PremierLeague 2 1 2 1 14 14 1
Bristol Rovers 8 4 3 3 23 12 12 6 13 14 23 3 3
Bromley current season 1 1 1
Burton Albion 6 1 6 1 19 13 19 17 4 6 1
Bury 10 3 7 2 21 17 19 21 13 4 9 2 12 3 2
Cambridge United 8 2 7 2 24 24 19 9 11 12 21 16 2
Carlisle United current season 11 3 9 1 20 1 20 10 6 10 11 18 10 20 5
Cheltenham Town current season 14 4 6 1 23 14 5 22 17 6 5 17 23 21 17 16 4 1
Chester City 5 1 5 15 23 20 15 18 22 23
Chesterfield current season 8 4 4 1 24 8 10 8 1 8 1 24
Colchester United current season 9 1 8 6 22 8 13 8 6 20 15 20 22
Coventry City 1 1 1 6 6 6
Crawley Town 10 2 9 3 22 3 20 19 14 19 13 12 12 22 7
Crewe Alexandra current season 10 3 4 2 17 18 10 7 17 15 12 2 13 6
Dagenham & Redbridge 8 2 5 7 23 20 8 7 19 22 9 14 23
Darlington 6 1 6 6 24 8 8 11 6 12 24
Doncaster Rovers current season 4 2 3 3 18 3 18 5
Exeter City 11 2 10 2 16 2 10 16 10 14 5 4 9 5 9 2
Fleetwood Town current season 3 2 2 4 13 13 4
Forest Green Rovers 6 2 5 1 24 21 5 10 6 1 24
Gillingham current season 7 3 3 1 17 5 8 8 1 17 12
Grimsby Town current season 14 3 6 4 24 18 4 15 16 22 23 14 18 17 15 24 11 21
Harrogate Town current season 5 1 5 13 19 17 19 19 13
Hartlepool United 7 3 4 2 23 2 19 22 16 23 17 23
Hereford United 5 2 3 3 23 16 3 16 21 23
Kidderminster Harriers 1 1 1 23 23 23
Leyton Orient 8 3 4 1 24 11 3 8 24 17 11 13 1
Lincoln City 9 2 7 1 23 6 7 5 15 13 20 23 7 1
Luton Town 5 2 4 2 24 24 8 11 4 2
Macclesfield Town 10 2 8 5 24 5 17 22 19 20 19 15 24 22 24
Mansfield Town 15 2 11 3 23 13 16 17 23 11 21 12 12 8 4 21 16 7 8 3
Milton Keynes Dons current season 5 3 2 1 4 4 1 3 4
Morecambe current season 16 2 14 4 22 11 11 4 20 15 16 18 11 21 18 22 18 22 4 15
Newport County current season 12 1 12 5 22 14 9 22 22 11 7 14 5 11 15 18
Northampton Town 13 4 7 1 21 7 2 11 16 20 6 21 12 1 15 7 4 3
Notts County current season 12 3 6 1 23 19 21 13 21 19 1 17 16 5 23 14
Oldham Athletic 4 1 4 14 23 14 19 18 23
Oxford United 8 2 6 2 23 15 23 12 9 9 8 13 2
Peterborough United 3 1 3 2 10 9 10 2
Plymouth Argyle 7 2 6 2 21 21 21 10 7 5 2 3
Port Vale current season 11 3 5 3 20 18 10 11 12 3 20 20 8 13 5
Portsmouth 4 1 4 1 16 13 16 6 1
Rochdale 10 3 6 3 24 9 14 9 5 6 3 12 3 18 24
Rotherham United 6 1 6 2 14 9 14 5 9 10 2
Rushden & Diamonds 2 1 2 22 24 22 24
Salford City current season 6 1 6 7 20 11 8 10 7 20
Scunthorpe United 5 3 3 2 24 2 2 20 22 24
Shrewsbury Town 9 2 8 2 21 21 10 7 18 7 12 4 2 2
Southend United 7 3 5 4 23 4 13 4 11 5 5 23
Stevenage 10 2 9 2 23 6 6 18 10 16 10 23 14 21 2
Stockport County 6 3 3 1 24 22 8 4 24 4 1
Sutton United 3 1 3 8 23 8 14 23
Swansea City 1 1 1 3 3 3
Swindon Town current season 9 4 4 1 19 3 1 9 13 1 6 10 19
Torquay United 7 2 5 5 24 20 24 17 7 5 19 24
Tranmere Rovers current season 7 3 5 6 24 24 6 7 9 12 16
Walsall current season 7 2 6 1 19 1 12 19 16 16 11
Wrexham 4 2 3 2 24 13 19 24 2
Wycombe Wanderers 12 3 6 3 22 10 6 12 7 3 3 15 22 4 13 9 3
Yeovil Town 5 2 4 1 24 1 19 20 19 24
York City 4 1 4 7 24 17 7 18 24

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: English Football League Two para niños

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