Wikipedia

EFL League One play-offs

TheEFL League One play-offsare a series ofplay-offmatches contested by theassociation footballteams finishing from third to sixth in theEFL League Onetable and are part of theEnglish Football League play-offs.As of 2022,the play-offs comprise two semi-finals, where the team finishing third plays the team finishing sixth, and the team finishing fourth plays the team finishing fifth, each conducted as atwo-legged tie.The winners of the semi-finals progress to the final which is contested atWembley Stadium.

For the first three years, the play-off final took place over two legs, played at both side's grounds.Swindon Townwon the first Third Division play-off finalin 1987,requiring areplayto defeatGillingham.From 1990, the play-off final was a one-off match, hosted at theoriginal Wembley Stadium,while from 2001 to 2006, the final was played at theMillennium StadiuminCardiffas Wembley was being rebuilt. Since 2007, the match has been hosted at Wembley Stadium except for the2011 finalwhich took place atOld Traffordto avoid a clash with the2011 UEFA Champions League final.

When the third tier play-offs were first contested in 1987, they were known as the Football League Third Division play-offs. From 1993 to 2004, following the creation of theFA Premier Leagueas a breakaway from theFootball League,the competition became known as the Second Division play-offs, and since 2005 has taken its current name as the League One play-offs following a rebranding of the remaining three divisions of the Football League.

Format

edit
An example of the play-off format, from the2000 Second Division play-offs

As of 2021,the League One play-offs involve the four teams that finish directly below the automaticpromotionplaces inEFL League One,the third tier of theEnglish football league system.These teams meet in a series of play-off matches to determine the final team that will be promoted to theEFL Championship.Based on the ranking, the team finishing in third place plays the sixth-placed team, while the team in fourth plays the fifth-placed team in the "play-off semi-finals". Two ties are played overtwo legs,with the higher-ranked side hosting the second leg. According to theEFL,"this is designed to give the highest finishing team anadvantage".[1]

The winner of each semi-final is determined by theaggregate scoreacross the two legs, with the number of goals scored in each match of the tie being added together. The team with the higher aggregate score qualifies for the final. If, at the end of the regular 90 minutes of the second leg, the aggregate score is level then the match goes intoextra timewhere two 15-minute halves are played. If the score remains level at the end of extra time, the tie is decided by apenalty shootout.Theaway goals ruledoes not apply in the play-off semi-finals.[2]

As of 2022, VAR (virtual assistance referee) will be used in the playoff final against Wycombe Wanderers and Sunderland FC.

The clubs that win the semi-finals then meet atWembley Stadium,aneutral venue,for a one-off match referred to as the "play-off final". If required, extra time and a penalty shootout can be employed in the same manner as for the semi-finals to determine the winner. The runner-up and losing semi-finalists remain in League One while the winning side is promoted.[2]The match, along with the finals of theChampionshipandLeague Two play-offs,usually takes place over thelong weekendof the secondbank holidayin May.[3]

Background

edit
Main article:English Football League play-offs

The mid-1980s saw a decline in attendances at football matches and public disenchantment with English football. A number of instances of violence and tragedy struck the game. In March 1985 at the semi-final of the1984–85 Football League CupbetweenChelseaandSunderlandwhere more than 100 people were arrested after various invasions of theStamford Bridgepitch and more than 40 people, including 20 policemen, were injured.[4]Nine days later,violence flaredat theFA Cupmatch betweenMillwallandLuton Town:seats were used as missiles against the police and resulted in Luton Town banning away supporters.[5]On 11 May, 56 people were killed and 265 injured in theBradford City stadium fireand less than three weeks later, 39 supporters died and more than 600 were injured in theHeysel Stadium disasterwhereLiverpoolwere playingJuventusinthe European Cup final.[6]

Initially the Play-Offs would operate for two years, but if they proved popular with spectators they could become a permanent part of the calendar.

Heathrow Agreement[7]

In an attempt to persuade fans to return to the stadia, the Football League had rejected a £19million television deal to broadcast matches live on theBBCandITVbefore the1985–86 Football Leagueseason with League presidentJack Dunnettsuggesting that "football is prepared to have a year or two with no television".[8]In December 1985, the "Heathrow Agreement" was agreed which aimed to revitalise the financial affairs of the league. It was a ten-point plan which included a structural reorganisation of the league, reducing the top tier from 22 clubs to 20, and the introduction ofplay-offsto facilitate the change.[9]The play-offs were introduced to the end of the1986–87 Football League season.[10]They were initially introduced for two years but with the proviso that if they were successful with the general public, they would be retained permanently.[7]

History

edit

In the first two seasons, the team one place above the relegation zone in theSecond Division,along with the three clubs below the automatic promotion positions in theThird Division,took part in the play-offs.[10]In the inaugural play-offs, Second Division Sunderland were eliminated in the semi-finals by Third Division sideGillinghamand suffered relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.[11]Inthe final,Gillingham faced Second DivisionSwindon Townbut they could not be separated over the two home-and-away legs, so the tie was settled in areplay.Played at a neutral ground,Crystal Palace's stadiumSelhurst Parkin Croydon, Swindon Town won the game 2–0 to gain promotion to the First Division, while Gillingham remained in the Second Division.[10][12]A replay was also required the following season whenWalsallandBristol Cityended their two-legged final 3–3 on aggregate.[13]A penalty shootout was used to determine which side would host the replay, which Walsall won.[14]Played atFellows Parktwo days after the second leg took place there, the match ended 4–0 to Walsall who were promoted.[13]

EFL League One play-off nomenclature
Years Name
1987–1992 Football League Third Divisionplay-offs
1993–2004 Football League Second Divisionplay-offs
2005–2015 Football League Oneplay-offs
2016–present EFL League Oneplay-offs

The primary objective of the play-offs was achieved within the first two seasons, namely the reorganisation of the four leagues with 20 clubs in the first tier and 24 in the second to fourth tiers.[15]However, the popularity of the play-offs was such that the post-season games were retained and theplay-offswere the first to feature four teams from the Third Division:[15]Port ValedefeatedBristol Roversover two legs in the1989 Football League Third Division play-off final.[16]From 1990, the format of the final changed to a single match played at a neutral venue, initially theoriginal Wembley Stadium.The first winners of the inaugural one-offfinalwereNotts Countywho beatTranmere Rovers2–0 in front of 29,252 spectators.[17]

Wembley Stadium was demolished early in the 21st century to make way for a brand new stadium. The2000 Second Division finalwas the last third-tier final to be hosted beneath theTwin Towers.For the next six years, the finals were hosted at theMillennium Stadiumin Cardiff, where Walsall needed extra time to beatReading3–2 in the final watched by a crowd of 50,496.[18]The play-off finals returned to the newWembley Stadiumin 2007. The firstsuch finalsawBlackpooldefeatYeovil Town2–0.[19]

TheLeague Oneplay-off final was relocated toOld Traffordfor a single season as a result of a scheduling clash with the2011 UEFA Champions League Final.[20]The2020 finalwas playedbehind closed doorsas a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.Wycombe WanderersbeatOxford Unitedto reach the second-tier for the first time in their history. The official attendance was 0.[21]

Since the first play-off final, the third tier of English football's league itself has undergone a number of re-brands. In 1993, the Premier League wasformed,[22]a move which caused the third-tier league to be renamed as the Second Division.[23]In 2004, the Second Division was re-branded as Football League One,[24]before the League's adoption of English Football League (EFL) led to a 2016 renaming as the EFL League One.[25]

Prize

edit

The financial value of winning the EFL League One play-off is derived from the additional remuneration clubs receive in the Championship. As of 2018clubs in the third tier receive around £1.4million, comprising a "basic award" and a "solidarity" payment, the latter of which is funded by thePremier League.[26]In the second tier, the total funding rises to a total of around £7million, a fivefold increase in revenue.[27][28]The winners of the final receive a trophy.[29][30]

Winners and semi-finalists

edit
Key to list of winners and semi-finalists
Year Link to play-off article for specified year
Venue Location(s) of the final match(es)
Winner (X) Team that won play-off final, (X) indicates cumulative number of play-off final victories
Final Link to play-off final article for the specified match
^ Final played over one leg
R Final decided by areplay
† Final decided inextra time
‡ Final decided by apenalty shoot-out
Runner-up Team that lost play-off final
Semi-finalists Two teams that lost in play-off semi-finals
Sheffield Wednesdaycelebrating victory in the2005 Football League One play-off finalat the Millennium Stadium
The2008 Football League One play-off finalat Wembley Stadium was won byDoncaster Rovers.
Scunthorpe United and Millwall players line up before the2009 Football League One play-off finalat Wembley Stadium.
Huddersfield TownandSheffield Unitedflags flying before the2012 Football League One play-off final
Yeovil Townsupporters at Wembley before the2013 Football League One play-off final
Winners of the EFL League One play-offs along with runners-up and semi-finalists
Year Venue Winner Final Runner-up Semi-finalists Ref.
1987 Priestfield Stadium/County Ground^ Swindon Town(1) 2–2 Gillingham Sunderland
Wigan Athletic 		[12]
1987 (R) Selhurst Park 2–0
1988 Ashton Gate/Fellows Park^ Walsall(1) 3–3 Bristol City Notts County
Sheffield United 		[13]
1988 (R) Fellows Park 4–0
1989 Twerton Park/Vale Park^ Port Vale(1) 2–1 Bristol Rovers Fulham
Preston North End 		[16]
1990 Wembley Stadium (original) Notts County(1) 2–0 Tranmere Rovers Bolton Wanderers
Bury 		[17]
1991 Tranmere Rovers(1) 1–0 Bolton Wanderers Brentford
Bury 		[31]
1992 Peterborough United(1) 2–1 Stockport County Huddersfield Town
Stoke City 		[32]
1993 West Bromwich Albion(1) 3–0 Port Vale Stockport County
Swansea City 		[33]
1994 Burnley(1) 2–1 Stockport County Plymouth Argyle
York City 		[34]
1995 Huddersfield Town(1) 2–1 Bristol Rovers Brentford
Crewe Alexandra 		[35]
1996 Bradford City(1) 2–0 Notts County Blackpool
Crewe Alexandra 		[36]
1997 Crewe Alexandra(1) 1–0 Brentford Bristol City
Luton Town 		[37]
1998 Grimsby Town(1) 1–0 Northampton Town Bristol Rovers
Fulham 		[38]
1999 Manchester City(1) 2–2‡[a] Gillingham Preston North End
Wigan Athletic 		[39]
2000 Gillingham(1) 3–2† Wigan Athletic Millwall
Stoke City 		[40]
2001 Millennium Stadium Walsall(2) 3–2† Reading Stoke City
Wigan Athletic 		[18]
2002 Stoke City(1) 2–0 Brentford Cardiff City
Huddersfield Town 		[41]
2003 Cardiff City(1) 1–0† Queens Park Rangers Bristol City
Oldham Athletic 		[42]
2004 Brighton & Hove Albion(1) 1–0 Bristol City Hartlepool United
Swindon Town 		[43]
2005 Sheffield Wednesday(1) 4–2† Hartlepool United Brentford
Tranmere Rovers 		[44]
2006 Barnsley(1) 2–2‡[b] Swansea City Brentford
Huddersfield Town 		[45]
2007 Wembley Stadium Blackpool(1) 2–0 Yeovil Town Nottingham Forest
Oldham Athletic 		[19]
2008 Doncaster Rovers(1) 1–0 Leeds United Carlisle United
Southend United 		[46]
2009 Scunthorpe United(1) 3–2 Millwall Leeds United
Milton Keynes Dons 		[47]
2010 Millwall(1) 1–0 Swindon Town Charlton Athletic
Huddersfield Town 		[48]
2011 Old Trafford Peterborough United(2) 3–0 Huddersfield Town Bournemouth
Milton Keynes Dons 		[49]
2012 Wembley Stadium Huddersfield Town(2) 0–0‡[c] Sheffield United Milton Keynes Dons
Stevenage 		[50]
2013 Yeovil Town(1) 2–1 Brentford Sheffield United
Swindon Town 		[51]
2014 Rotherham United(1) 2–2‡[d] Leyton Orient Peterborough United
Preston North End 		[52]
2015 Preston North End(1) 4–0 Swindon Town Chesterfield
Sheffield United 		[53]
2016 Barnsley(2) 3–1 Millwall Bradford City
Walsall 		[54]
2017 Millwall(2) 1–0 Bradford City Fleetwood Town
Scunthorpe United 		[55]
2018 Rotherham United(2) 2–1† Shrewsbury Town Charlton Athletic
Scunthorpe United 		[56]
2019 Charlton Athletic(1) 2–1 Sunderland Doncaster Rovers
Portsmouth 		[57]
2020 Wycombe Wanderers(1) 2–1 Oxford United Fleetwood Town
Portsmouth 		[58]
2021 Blackpool(2) 2–1 Lincoln City Oxford United
Sunderland 		[59]
2022 Sunderland(1) 2–0 Wycombe Wanderers Milton Keynes Dons
Sheffield Wednesday 		[60]
2023 Sheffield Wednesday(2) 1–0† Barnsley Peterborough United
Bolton Wanderers 		[61]
2024 Oxford United(1) 2–0 Bolton Wanderers Barnsley
Peterborough United 		[62]

Records

edit

Eight clubs have secured promotion from the third tier of English football through the play-off final twice, Walsall becoming the first to do so in 2001 and most recentlySheffield Wednesdaywho beatBarnsleyin the2023 final.Brentford have failed to be promoted via the play-offs on seven occasions. Along with Bristol City, they have lost in the final three times.[63]

Notes

edit
  1. ^Manchester City won the 1999 Football League Second Division play-off final with a 3–1 penalty shoot-out victory over Gillingham.[39]
  2. ^Barnsley won the 2006 Football League One play-off final with a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory over Swansea City.[45]
  3. ^Huddersfield won the 2012 Football League One play-off final with an 8–7 penalty shoot-out victory over Sheffield United.[50]
  4. ^Rotherham United won the 2014 Football League One play-off final with a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory over Leyton Orient.[52]

References

edit
  1. ^EFL."About the Play-Offs".EFL.Retrieved18 April2024.
  2. ^ab"About the Play-Offs".English Football League.Archivedfrom the original on 17 January 2021.Retrieved21 March2021.
  3. ^Woodcock, Ian; Williams, Adam (22 May 2020)."EFL play-offs: Relive some of the most memorable games".BBC Sport.Retrieved3 May2021.
  4. ^Foster 2015,p. 12.
  5. ^Foster 2015,p. 13.
  6. ^Foster 2015,pp. 14–15.
  7. ^abFoster 2015,p. 27.
  8. ^Foster 2015,p. 19.
  9. ^Foster 2015,p. 18.
  10. ^abcPye, Steven (22 May 2015)."How Charlton, Swindon and Aldershot triumphed in the first play-offs in 1987".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2020.Retrieved21 March2021.
  11. ^Elligate 2009,p. 89.
  12. ^abFoster 2015,p. 194.
  13. ^abcFoster 2015,p. 196.
  14. ^Bateman, Cynthia (30 May 1988)."A Shutt and open case".The Guardian.p. 18.Archivedfrom the original on 12 April 2021.Retrieved12 April2021– viaNewspapers.
  15. ^abFoster 2015,p. 62.
  16. ^abFoster 2015,p. 198.
  17. ^abFoster 2015,p. 200.
  18. ^abFoster 2015,p. 211.
  19. ^abFoster 2015,p. 217.
  20. ^"Old Trafford to host League One and Two play-off finals".BBC News.21 January 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 25 January 2011.Retrieved6 May2020.
  21. ^Freeman, Jay (13 July 2020)."League One play-off final: Wycombe beat Oxford to win promotion – as it happened".BBC Sport.Retrieved6 May2021.
  22. ^Foster, p. 23
  23. ^"Division One renamed The Championship".The Guardian.10 June 2004.Archivedfrom the original on 11 August 2017.Retrieved20 January2021.
  24. ^Rej, Arindam (1 August 2004)."Pop goes the Championship".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 25 March 2021.Retrieved21 March2021.
  25. ^Rumsby, Ben (12 November 2015)."Rebranded Football League changing its name to English Football League as EFL unveils new logo".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 29 September 2017.Retrieved21 March2021.
  26. ^"Premier League reveals funding for EFL clubs in 2019/20".Premier League.18 December 2020.Retrieved7 May2021.
  27. ^"Shrewsbury Town: League One club can earn huge cash increase with promotion".BBC Sport.23 May 2018.Retrieved7 May2021.
  28. ^Evely, John (27 May 2018)."How much Championship promotion is worth to Rotherham United and League One teams".Bristol Post.Retrieved7 May2021.
  29. ^Miller, Nick (29 May 2016)."Barnsley promoted to Championship with play-off final win over Millwall".The Guardian.Retrieved7 May2021.
  30. ^"Get your hands on the League One play-off final trophy before Tuesday's game".Charlton Athletic F.C.12 August 2019.Retrieved7 May2021.
  31. ^Foster 2015,p. 201.
  32. ^Foster 2015,p. 202.
  33. ^Foster 2015,p. 203.
  34. ^Foster 2015,p. 204.
  35. ^Foster 2015,p. 205.
  36. ^Foster 2015,p. 206.
  37. ^Foster 2015,p. 207.
  38. ^Foster 2015,p. 208.
  39. ^abFoster 2015,p. 209.
  40. ^Foster 2015,p. 210.
  41. ^Foster 2015,p. 212.
  42. ^Foster 2015,p. 213.
  43. ^Foster 2015,p. 214.
  44. ^Foster 2015,p. 215.
  45. ^abFoster 2015,p. 216.
  46. ^Foster 2015,p. 218.
  47. ^Foster 2015,p. 219.
  48. ^Foster 2015,p. 220.
  49. ^Foster 2015,p. 221.
  50. ^abFoster 2015,p. 222.
  51. ^Foster 2015,p. 223.
  52. ^abFoster 2015,p. 224.
  53. ^Foster 2015,p. 225.
  54. ^"League One end of season table for 2015–16 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved5 May2021.
  55. ^"League One end of season table for 2016–17 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved5 May2021.
  56. ^"League One end of season table for 2017–18 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved5 May2021.
  57. ^"League One end of season table for 2018–19 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved5 May2021.
  58. ^"League One end of season table for 2019–20 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved5 May2021.
  59. ^"League One end of season table for 2020–21 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved30 May2021.
  60. ^"League One end of season table for 2021–22 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved21 May2022.
  61. ^"League One end of season table for 2022-23 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved19 May2023.
  62. ^"League One end of season table for 2023-24 season".11v11.AFS Enterprises.Retrieved18 May2024.
  63. ^Foster 2015,pp. 194–225.

Bibliography

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=EFL_League_One_play-offs&oldid=1251241066"