League Two: Dates, teams, venues, history & more

League Two is the fourth and bottom tier of the English Football League where the teams at the top battle it out to try and progress up to League One, while others attempt to avoid dropping down into the non-league set-up.

The old Fourth Division has been known as League Two since the 2004/05 EFL season, when the Football League, the three divisions beneath the Premier League, were rebranded.

Each season, 24 clubs take part with those finishing in the top three places securing automatic promotion up to League One, while the bottom two are relegated to the first rung on the non-league pyramid - the National League. 

The four teams that finish the season between fourth and seventh place then go into the play-offs for the final promotion spot, with the successful two to emerge from the two-legged semi-finals facing off at Wembley with the chance to go up.

League Two dates

The 2024/25 League Two season is set to start on Saturday 10th August 2024, with the regular season concluding on 3rd May, 2025.

The season-ending play-offs will finish at Wembley Stadium and are set to take place in May.

League Two teams

Chesterfield and Bromley both earned promotion from the National League and will be competing in League Two this season, alongside the four relegated teams from League One - Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town, Port Vale and Carlisle United.

Gillingham, MK Dons, Bradford City, Notts County, Salford City, Doncaster Rovers, AFC Wimbledon, Walsall and Swindon Town are notable teams in the league.

Crewe Alexandra, Tranmere Rovers, Barrow, Accrington Stanley, Grimsby Town, Colchester United, Harrogate Town, Newport County and Morecambe make up the division.

League Two format

League Two is the bottom division of the English Football League, known as the EFL, and the fourth tier overall in the English league system, beneath the Premier League, Championship and League One.

The 24 teams in the division play each other twice, once at home and once away, with a traditional three points awarded for wins, one for a draw and zero for a defeat.

At the end of the campaign, with each team having played a gruelling 46 matches, the final standings determine who goes up to League One (top three automatically promoted), while the bottom two are consigned to the National League.

Four other teams (fourth to seventh place) get the chance to secure promotion via the end-of-season play-offs.

League Two history

League Two came into being in its current guise in 2004 following an EFL rebrand but the fourth tier has long been English football's lowest professional-level division and was known simply as Division Four between 1958 and 1992.

Then, when the Premier League was introduced, it was upgraded to Division Two before getting its League Two title ahead of the 2004/05 season.

Underlining the very competitive nature of the division, there have been 18 different champions of League Two, with only Swindon Town and Chesterfield crowned winners on two occasions. Swindon in 2012 and 2020 and the Spireites in 2011 and 2014.