EFL League Two

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.

"League Two" and "League 2" redirect here. For the Scottish league, see Scottish League Two. For Thailand's league, see Thai League 2. For the American league, see USL League Two. For the French league, see Ligue 2.

EFL League Two
Founded2004 (2004)
  • 1992–2004 (as Division Three)
  • 1958–1992 (as Division Four)
CountryEngland
Other club(s) fromWales
Number of teams24
Level on pyramid4
Promotion toEFL League One
Relegation toNational League
Domestic cup(s)FA Cup
League cup(s)
International cup(s)
Current championsLeyton Orient (1st title)
(2022–23)
Most championships
TV partnersList of broadcasters
WebsiteOfficial website
Current: 2023–24 EFL League Two

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 2022–23 season, Mansfield Town and Newport County hold the longest tenure in this division following their respective promotions in the 2012–13 season. There are currently three former Premier League clubs competing in this division: Bradford City (1999–2001), MK Dons (as Wimbledon 1992–2000) and Swindon Town (1993–94).

Structure

There are 24 clubs in this division. Each club plays each of the other clubs twice (once at home and once away) 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
Locations of the 2023–24 EFL League Two teams
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 5,045
Bradford City Bradford Valley Parade 25,126
Colchester United Colchester Colchester Community Stadium 10,105
Crawley Town Crawley Broadfield Stadium 5,996
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Gresty Road 10,153
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Keepmoat Stadium 15,231
Forest Green Rovers Nailsworth The New Lawn 5,147
Gillingham Gillingham Priestfield Stadium 11,582
Grimsby Town Cleethorpes Blundell Park 9,052
Harrogate Town Harrogate Wetherby Road 5,000
Mansfield Town Mansfield Field Mill 9,186
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Stadium MK 30,500
Morecambe Morecambe Mazuma Stadium 6,476
Newport County Newport Rodney Parade 7,850
Notts County Nottingham Meadow Lane 19,588
Salford City Salford Moor Lane 5,108
Stockport County Stockport Edgeley Park 10,852
Sutton United London (Sutton) Gander Green Lane 5,032
Swindon Town Swindon County Ground 15,728
Tranmere Rovers Birkenhead Prenton Park 16,789
Walsall Walsall Bescot Stadium 11,300
Wrexham Wrexham Racecourse Ground 10,771

Teams promoted from League Two
For winners prior to 2004, see List of winners of the EFL League Two and predecessors.
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[2] 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

Play-off results
Main article: EFL League Two play-offs
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.)

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[3]
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[lower-alpha 1]
2020–21 Southend United, Grimsby Town
2021–22 Oldham Athletic, Scunthorpe United
2022–23 Hartlepool United, Rochdale
  1. As a result of Bury's expulsion from League One, only one team was relegated to maintain League Two at 24 teams.[4]

Top scorers
Season Top scorer(s) Club(s) Goals
2004–05 England Phil Jevons Yeovil Town 27
2005–06 England Karl Hawley Carlisle United 23
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 31
2021–22 England Dom Telford Newport County 25
2022–23 England Andy Cook Bradford City 28

Attendances

League Two is the most watched fourth-tier domestic sports league in the world, and the 14th most watch football league in Europe of any tier.[5] 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 4,272. The highest average attendance was 5,786 in the 2022–23 season. In the same season the highest average attendance for an individual club was also achieved; 17,967 for Bradford City. The lowest average attendance was 3,856 in the 2009–10 season.

SeasonLeague average attendanceHighest average
ClubAttendance
2004–054,499Swansea City8,458[6]
2005–064,194Carlisle United7,218[7]
2006–074,130Swindon Town7,419[8]
2007–084,346Bradford City13,659[9]
2008–094,185Bradford City12,704[10]
2009–103,856Bradford City11,423[11]
2010–114,166Bradford City11,128[12]
2011–124,407Bradford City10,170[13]
2012–134,390Bradford City11,999[14]
2013–144,352Portsmouth15,460[15]
2014–154,676Portsmouth15,241[16]
2015–164,881Portsmouth16,442[17]
2016–174,751Portsmouth16,822[18]
2017–184,491Coventry City11,218[19]
2018–194,467Lincoln City9,005[20]
2019–204,687Bradford City14,253[21]
2020–21No attendances due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–224,907Bradford City15,450[22]
2022–235,786Bradford City17,967[23]

Historic performance

Since the restructuring into League Two in 2004, 68 teams have spent at least one season in the division, including 3 of the 20 teams in the 2023–24 Premier League.

Mansfield Town have spent the longest in League Two; 15 seasons in total. The longest spell was for Morecambe who were in the division for 13 consecutive seasons between 2005 and 2019. Mansfield Town and Newport County share the current longest tenure, with 11 consecutive seasons.

Northampton Town and Bristol Rovers have each been promoted four times from League Two. There have been 17 different champions, with Swindon Town and Chesterfield champions on two occasions. 18 teams have been both promoted and relegated from League Two.

Key
  •    † Teams with this background and symbol in the "Club" column will be competing in the 2023–24 EFL League Two
  •    ‡ Team will be competing in the 2023–24 Premier League
  •    The club competed in League Two during that season (the number is the club's final league position)


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
Accrington Stanley †13212120201716155141815174131-
AFC Bournemouth ‡212221212
AFC Wimbledon †72572116202015721-
Aldershot Town515624156141124
Barnet112812231814121721222223151523
Barrow †41492221229-
Blackpool111777
Bolton Wanderers111333
Boston United3131123161123
Bradford City †11266181091418187915146-
Brentford ‡212114141
Bristol Rovers8433231212613142333
Burton Albion616119131917461
Bury1037221171921134921232
Cambridge United82722424199111221162
Carlisle United102912012010610111810205
Cheltenham Town1336123145221765172321171641
Chester City51515232015182223
Chesterfield734124810818124
Colchester United †81862081386201520-
Coventry City111666
Crawley Town †102932232019141913121222-
Crewe Alexandra †93421718107171512213-
Dagenham & Redbridge8257232087192291423
Darlington616624881161224
Doncaster Rovers †322318318-
Exeter City11210216210161014549592
Fleetwood Town212413134
Forest Green Rovers †6251212151061-
Gillingham †633117588117-
Grimsby Town †133642418415162223141817152411-
Harrogate Town †4141719171919-
Hartlepool United7342232192216231723
Hereford United523323163162123
Kidderminster Harriers111232323
Leyton Orient8341241138241711131
Lincoln City9271236751513202371
Luton Town ‡5242242481142
Macclesfield Town10285245172219201915242224
Mansfield Town †15211423131617231121121284211678-
Milton Keynes Dons †43214413-
Morecambe †1521342211114201516181121182218224-
Newport County †1111152214922221171451115-
Northampton Town13471217211162062112115743
Notts County †1136123192113211911716523-
Oldham Athletic414142314191823
Oxford United826223152312998132
Peterborough United3132109102
Plymouth Argyle7262212121107523
Port Vale 10 2 5 3 20 18 10 11 12 3 20 20 8 13 5
Portsmouth414116131661
Rochdale103632491495631231824
Rotherham United61621491459102
Rushden & Diamonds21222242224
Salford City †515711118107-
Scunthorpe United53322422202224
Stevenage102922366181016102314212
Shrewsbury Town9282212110718712422
Southend United7354234134115523
Stockport County †6334242284244-
Sutton United †313814814-
Swansea City111333
Swindon Town †843113319131610-
Torquay United725524202417751924
Tranmere Rovers †6346242467912-
Walsall †625119112191616-
Wrexham †4231324131924-
Wycombe Wanderers123632210612733152241393
Yeovil Town524124119201924
York City4147241771824

See also

References and notes
  1. "The Football League - About Us - History - Timeline - TIMELINE". English Football League. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  2. 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.
  3. Luton were deducted 30 points for financial irregularities
  4. "Bury FC: Membership of the League withdrawn". EFL. 27 August 2019.
  5. "Highest League attendances for 70 years as nearly 22 million attend EFL competitions". www.efl.com. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  6. "Coca Cola League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2004-2005 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  7. "Coca Cola League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2005-2006 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  8. "Coca Cola League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2006-2007 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  9. "Coca Cola League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2007-2008 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  10. "Coca Cola League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2008-2009 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  11. "Coca Cola League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2009-2010 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  12. "npower League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2010-2011 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  13. "npower League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2011-2012 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  14. "npower League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2012-2013 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  15. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2013-2014 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  16. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2014-2015 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  17. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2015-2016 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  18. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2016-2017 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  19. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2017-2018 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  20. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2018-2019 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  21. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2019-2020 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  22. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | 2021-2022 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
  23. "Sky Bet League Two | Average Attendances | Home Matches | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
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