League Two is the world's best-watched fourth-tier sports league
At the bottom rung of the English Football League, crowds are still remarkable. No other fourth-level domestic sports competition on the planet draws as many spectators, and it ranks 14th among all football leagues in Europe. In 2023–24 some 3,458,968 people passed through its turnstiles, an average of 6,274 a game, the best since the division took its name.
The division started life as the Fourth Division in 1958–59, spent a spell labelled the Third Division after 1992, and became League Two in 2004–05. Twenty-four clubs each play 46 matches, home and away against everyone, for three points a win and one a draw.
Both exits are busy. Three clubs climb automatically to League One, with a fourth promoted through play-offs among those finishing fourth to seventh. Only two fall out of the league into the National League, swapped for that division's champion and play-off winner. A relegated club could in theory survive if its replacement lacked a suitable stadium, but every current National League club meets the ground rules, so the loophole never applies. The other escape is another club resigning or being expelled.
Since 2004, 69 clubs have played here, including three that will be in the Premier League in 2026–27. Accrington Stanley, Cheltenham Town, Grimsby Town and Morecambe have each logged 16 seasons, and Morecambe and Newport County share the longest unbroken run at 14. Newport have been there since winning promotion in 2012–13. Northampton Town and Bristol Rovers have each gone up four times, and 23 clubs have experienced both promotion and relegation. Of 20 different champions, only Swindon Town and Chesterfield have won it twice; Bromley are the current holders.
Crowds across all seasons since 2004 average 4,602, dipping to 3,856 in 2009–10, while Bradford City drew 17,967 a game in 2022–23. A compulsory cap keeps wage bills to 55 per cent of club turnover.
Source: EFL League Two
