English Football League

The English Football League (EFL) is a group of professional football clubs from England and Wales. It began in 1888 and is the oldest football league in the world. For many years, it was the top league in England until 1992 when some clubs left to start the Premier League. Since the 2016–17 season, it is called the English Football League.

The EFL has three parts: the Championship, League One, and League Two. Each part has 24 clubs, so there are 72 clubs in total. Clubs can move up or down between these groups each year. Today, four clubs from Wales – Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham, and Newport County – are in the EFL. The rest are from England.

The EFL also runs two special cup competitions: the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The main office of the EFL is in Preston, and its business office is in London.

Overview

The Football League has 68 professional football clubs in England and four in Wales. It is the oldest professional football league in the world. It also organizes two important cup competitions, the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy. The Football League began in 1888 from an idea by Aston Villa director William McGregor, starting with just twelve clubs. More clubs joined over time, and by 1950, there were 92 clubs. In 1992, the top clubs left to form the FA Premier League, now called the Premier League. Clubs can still move between the Football League and the Premier League through promotion and relegation. So far, 145 different teams have been in the Football League up to 2024.

Competition

The English Football League (EFL) has 72 clubs split into three groups: the EFL Championship, EFL League One, and EFL League Two. Each group has 24 clubs. They play each other twice every season, once at home and once away, for a total of 46 games.

Clubs earn three points for a win, one point for a tie, and no points for a loss. At the end of the season, teams that finish near the top move up to a higher group, while teams that finish near the bottom move down to a lower group. The top three clubs in the Championship can move up to the Premier League, and the bottom three clubs in the Premier League move down to take their places. At the lower end, two clubs from League Two may move down to the National division of the National League, while two clubs from that division move up to League Two.

Sometimes, a playoff decides one promotion spot for each group. This means a team that finishes lower in the standings can still move up if they win the playoff matches at the end of the season.

The EFL also runs two cup competitions: the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The EFL Cup started in 1960 and includes all EFL and Premier League clubs. The winner gets to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The EFL Trophy began in 1983 and is for clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two. The league celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1988 with a special Centenary Tournament at Wembley.

History

The English Football League began in 1888 as the Football League, making it the oldest football league in the world. It was the top-level league in England until 1992, when the top clubs left to form the Premier League. In the 2016–17 season, it was renamed the English Football League.

Before professional football was allowed in 1885, many clubs paid players, which was against the rules. When more clubs became professional, they needed a better way to schedule games and earn money.

William McGregor, a director of Aston Villa, suggested creating a league where clubs could play each other twice each season. This idea became the Football League, starting with twelve clubs in 1888. Each team played the others twice, and points were given for wins and draws.

Over the years, the league grew. In 1892, a Second Division was added. More clubs joined, and by the early 1900s, clubs from the south of England also began to compete. After pauses during the world wars, the league continued to grow. In 1992, the top clubs left to form the Premier League, and the Football League became the English Football League in 2016.

Records

Main article: Football records in England

The English Football League has many records that show great achievements in football history. Players and teams have set amazing goals, points, and other milestones that fans still talk about. These records help us see how the game has grown and changed over time.

Trophies

The English Football League has six trophies. The Championship trophy looks different from the trophies for the League One Champions, League Two Champions, and the play-off finals for Championship, League One, and League Two. The five trophies that look similar were made by a British silversmith named Thomas Lyte.

All the trophies for the winners have three handles. The league champion’s trophy has handles covered in gold. The champion’s trophies are 50 centimeters tall, while the play-off final trophies are 45 centimeters tall. There are also trophies for the runners-up in each league; these have two handles and are 40 centimeters tall.

Current member clubs

Since 1888, 145 clubs have been in the English Football League. The clubs below are part of the league now.

Championship

• Birmingham City
• Blackburn Rovers
• Bristol City
• Charlton Athletic
• Coventry City
• Derby County
• Hull City
• Ipswich Town
• Leicester City
• Middlesbrough
• Millwall
• Norwich City
• Oxford United
• Portsmouth
• Preston North End
• Queens Park Rangers
• Sheffield United
• Sheffield Wednesday
• Southampton
• Stoke City
• Swansea City
• Watford
• West Bromwich Albion
• Wrexham

League One

• AFC Wimbledon
• Barnsley
• Blackpool
• Bolton Wanderers
• Bradford City
• Burton Albion
• Cardiff City
• Doncaster Rovers
• Exeter City
• Huddersfield Town
• Leyton Orient
• Lincoln City
• Luton Town
• Mansfield Town
• Northampton Town
• Peterborough United
• Plymouth Argyle
• Port Vale
• Reading
• Rotherham United
• Stevenage
• Stockport County
• Wigan Athletic
• Wycombe Wanderers

League Two

• Accrington Stanley
• Barnet
• Barrow
• Bristol Rovers
• Bromley
• Cambridge United
• Cheltenham Town
• Chesterfield
• Colchester United
• Crawley Town
• Crewe Alexandra
• Fleetwood Town
• Gillingham
• Grimsby Town
• Harrogate Town
• Milton Keynes Dons
• Newport County
• Notts County
• Oldham Athletic
• Salford City
• Shrewsbury Town
• Swindon Town
• Tranmere Rovers
• Walsall

Past League winners

NB: League and FA Cup double winners are highlighted in bold.

1888–1892

When the Football League started, 12 clubs played in one group.

1892–1920

In 1892, the Football League added 11 clubs, making two divisions. The old group became the First Division and the new group became the Second Division.

1920–1921

In 1920, the Football League added clubs from another league and Grimsby Town. These clubs joined the new Third Division:

1921–1958

After one season, the League grew again, adding clubs from the north of England. The old Third Division split into the Third Division South and the Third Division North. Grimsby Town moved to the northern division. Both divisions competed to move up to the Second Division.

1958–1992

At the start of the 1958–59 season, the regional divisions were replaced with national Third and Fourth Divisions.

1992–2004

After 22 top clubs left to form the FA Premier League, the Football League no longer had the top division. The Second Division became the First Division, the Third Division became the Second Division and the Fourth Division became the Third Division.

2004–present

In 2004, the divisions were renamed: the First Division became the Football League Championship, the Second Division became Football League One and the Third Division became Football League Two.

At the end of the 2005–06 season, Reading finished with 106 points, breaking an old record. Later, Birmingham City finished with even more points, setting a new record.

Titles by club

Since the Premier League began in 1992, winning the Football League title no longer means a team is the top champion in England.

Football League titles

Includes Premier League titles.

Play-offs

Main article: Football League play-offs

The Football League play-offs help decide which team gets the last chance to move up in each of the league's three divisions. This gives more clubs a chance to move up near the end of the season.

The play-offs started in 1987 when the top league was getting smaller. At first, it included one team trying to stay in a higher division and three teams trying to move up. In 1989, the rules changed so only teams just below the automatic promotion spots would compete. The four teams play two semi-finals and a final, with the winner getting promoted. The final used to be two games but became a single match in 1990, and that's how it is played today. A plan to include six teams instead of four was voted down in 2003.

1: Because of money issues, Swindon couldn’t move up, so the spot went to the other team in the final, Sunderland.

League sponsorship

See also: English football sponsorship

Since 1983, the League has had sponsors for its main competition. Here is a list of sponsors and the League's name during their sponsorship:

• ^A When the top clubs left in 1992 to form the Premier League, Barclays became a sponsor for the new top division. Later, Barclays was the main sponsor from 2001 to 2016.

After the Premier League started, the League had fewer clubs and changed its division names. The old Second Division became the First Division, the Third Division became the Second Division, and the Fourth Division became the Third Division. The League worked to help its clubs with money because it was hard to get funds. There were hopes for the future when Coca-Cola became a new sponsor in the 2004–05 season. The League changed its names again: the First Division became The Championship, the Second Division became League One, and the Third Division became League Two. The League’s cup competitions have had different sponsors. Today, Sky Bet sponsors the League and gave special trophies made by silversmith Thomas Lyte.

Media rights

United Kingdom and Ireland

Live matches

Television helps clubs earn money. In the 1980s, regular TV stations showed football matches. Then, a satellite TV company called British Sky Broadcasting wanted to show sports to get more customers. This changed things because they paid a lot for the rights.

In 1992, the top clubs left to form their own league, the FA Premier League. They signed a deal with Sky TV to show their matches live. This made the Football League weaker because it lost its best teams and could not make big TV deals. Things got harder in 2002 when ITV Digital, which had the rights to show Football League matches, went broke and lost money for the clubs.

In 2007, the league made a new deal worth £264 million with Sky and the BBC to show matches for three seasons from 2009 to 2012. This was much better than the old deal. Sky showed most games, and the BBC showed 10 live Championship matches each season, plus important cup matches.

In 2012, Sky became the only place to watch all matches live after the BBC left due to budget cuts, but the BBC still showed highlights on The Football League Show. In May 2017, Talksport got the rights to broadcast up to 110 EFL matches on radio each season. Many matches are also shown locally on BBC Local Radio stations or other local stations.

In November 2018, Sky Sports made a new five-year deal to show 138 league matches each season, with the chance to show even more in the last two years. In May 2023, Sky Sports agreed to a new five-year deal starting from 2024–25 to show over 1,000 matches each season, including league games, play-offs, and cup matches. Sky also took over the league's streaming service.

Highlights

*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.

International broadcasters

Source: England Football League website as of November 8, 2025.

Europe

¹ Broadcast area in France includes viewers in Monaco, Reunion, Andorra, French Polynesia, Mayotte, New Caledonia
² Israel is listed by the EFL as part of their European broadcast partners even though technically it is in Asia.

Eurasia

¹ The broadcast area for the Baltics region includes viewers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
² Due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war in the Ukraine some games may not air or be pre-empted.

Sub-Saharan Africa

¹ Broadcast area includes viewers in the Republic of Somaliland

Asia

North America

¹ EFL matches are broadcast live or delayed to authorised United States military personnel stationed overseas using the AFN Go mobile app or a AFN satellite television decoder.
² The EFL website lists ESPN/Disney+ as the EFL match broadcaster for the Republic of Cuba, however due to current United States embargo against Cuba it is unclear if this information is accurate.

Central and Latin America

Middle East and North Africa

Oceania

Online Streaming

Governance and management

The English Football League (EFL) is run by a company where the 72 clubs are like owners. In 2022, it made about £190.8 million, mostly from TV money.

The EFL has a board of ten directors who guide the league's plans. Six of them are chosen by the clubs, with three from Championship Clubs, two from League One Clubs, and one from a League Two Club. The other four include independent directors, a chair, and the chief executive.

Current leaders include:

• Rick Parry – Chairman
• Trevor Birch – Chief Executive
• Zoe Webber
• Liam Scully
• Julian Tagg
• Charles Grant
• Peter Ridsdale
• Neil Bausor
• Caroline Artis
• Justine Roberts CBE

The league also has a Chief Operating Officer named Nick Craig.

Financial regulation and sustainability

The English Football League (EFL) has rules to help clubs stay strong. In 2012, it started rules called “Profitability and Sustainability Rules” to limit how much money clubs can lose.

These rules work with guidelines from The Football Association to keep clubs safe and fair. The EFL also gets money from the Premier League to help clubs that move down in the rankings.

Arms

The English Football League, also called the EFL, is a group of soccer teams from England and Wales. It started in 1888 and was the top soccer league in England until 1992. After that, the best teams left to form a new league called the Premier League. In the 2016–17 season, the league changed its name to the English Football League.