2025–26 EFL League One

22nd season of EFL League One From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2025–26 EFL League One (referred to as Sky Bet League One due to sponsorship reasons) is the 22nd season of the EFL League One under its current title, and the 34th season under its current league division format.

Season2025–26
Dates1 August 2025 – 24 May 2026
ChampionsLincoln City
1st League One Title
4th third-tier Title
PromotedLincoln City
Cardiff City
Quick facts Season, Dates ...
EFL League One
Season2025–26
Dates1 August 2025 – 24 May 2026
ChampionsLincoln City
1st League One Title
4th third-tier Title
PromotedLincoln City
Cardiff City
RelegatedExeter City
Port Vale
Rotherham United
Northampton Town
Matches454
Goals1,182 (2.6 per match)
Top goalscorerDom Ballard
(23 goals)
Biggest home winPeterborough United 5–0 AFC Wimbledon
(8 November 2025)
Barnsley 5–0 Luton Town
(22 November 2025)
Huddersfield Town 5–0 Port Vale
(26 December 2025)
Peterborough United 6–1 Wigan Athletic
(7 February 2026) Peterborough United 5–0 Rotherham United
(17 March 2026)
Biggest away winBurton Albion 0–4 Plymouth Argyle
(27 September 2025)
Burton Albion 0–4 Leyton Orient
(29 November 2025)
Doncaster Rovers 1–5 Plymouth Argyle
(20 December 2025)
Exeter City 0–4 Rotherham United
(31 January 2026)
Blackpool 0–4 Plymouth Argyle
(14 February 2026)
Doncaster Rovers 0–4 Cardiff City
(28 February 2026)
Exeter City 1–5 Bolton Wanderers
(28 February 2026)
Exeter City 0–4 Cardiff City
(14 March 2026)
AFC Wimbledon 0-4 Huddersfield Town
(2 May 2026)
Highest scoringMansfield Town 5-4 Cardiff City
(2 May 2026)
Longest winning runLincoln City (6 games)
Longest unbeaten runLincoln City (29 games)
Longest winless runExeter City,
Northampton Town
(13 games)
Longest losing runNorthampton Town (8 games)
Highest attendance27,280
Cardiff City 0–2 Lincoln City
(7 March 2026)
Lowest attendance2,715
Stevenage 2–1 Port Vale
(17 February 2026)
Total attendance4,608,965
Average attendance9,912[1]
All statistics correct as of 17 May 2026.
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Summary

Pre-season managerial changes

On 3 May 2025, it was announced that both former Arsenal and Wales captain Aaron Ramsey and Jon Worthington who had served as interim managers at newly-relegated Cardiff City & Huddersfield Town, respectively would leave their roles following the end of their interim spells in charge of the clubs with Ramsey being replaced at Cardiff by former Manchester City academy coach Brian Barry-Murphy on 16 June 2025 and Worthington being replaced by former Manchester United back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant on 28 May 2025.[2][3] On 31 May 2025, it was announced that Miron Muslić at newly-relegated Plymouth Argyle would leave the club to join 2. Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 with former Manchester United player and former Watford manager Tom Cleverley named as his replacement on 13 June 2025.[4]

In-season managerial changes

On 18 September 2025, Wycombe Wanderers announced that Mike Dodds had been sacked with the club at the time of Dodds' departure sitting in 19th place - with him becoming the first managerial departure of the season and the first managerial sacking for Wycombe since Gary Waddock in 2012 - he was replaced by former Barnsley and Huddersfield Town manager Michael Duff on 18 September 2025.[5][6] On 4 October 2025, Blackpool announced that they had parted company with former Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce with the club sitting second-from-bottom at the time of the sacking with him being replaced by former Bolton Wanderers manager and former Blackpool player Ian Evatt on 21 October 2025.[7][8] On 6 October 2025, Luton Town announced that Matt Bloomfield had been sacked by the club with them in 11th place at the time of Bloomfield's departure with him replaced by former Arsenal player and former Norwich City interim manager Jack Wilshire on 13 October 2025.[9][10] On 25 October 2025, Peterborough United announced that they had parted ways with Darren Ferguson with the club rock-bottom of the league with Ferguson being replaced by former Swansea City manager Luke Williams on 29 October 2025.[11][12] On 26 October 2025, it was announced that former Reading player Noel Hunt had left the club by mutual consent with the club in 19th place at the time of his departure - he was the first-ever sacking by new Reading owner Rob Couhig as he didn't sack a manager whilst he owned former club Wycombe Wanderers - Hunt was replaced by former Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United manager Leam Richardson on 28 October 2025.[13][14] On 28 December 2025, Port Vale announced that Darren Moore had left the club with the club rock-bottom of the league at the time of his departure with Moore being replaced by Jon Brady on 6 January 2026.[15][16] On 17 January 2026, Huddersfield Town announced that they had parted ways with former Ipswich Town assistant manager and Manchester United back-up goalkeeper Lee Grant with them in 6th place upon his departure with Grant being replaced by former Bristol City and Norwich City manager Liam Manning on 20 January 2026.[17][18] On 8 February 2026, Wigan Athletic announced that they had sacked Ryan Lowe with them in 22nd place at the time of his departure with Lowe being replaced by former Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell on 16 February 2026. On 16 February 2026, Exeter City announced that Gary Caldwell had left the club to sign for Wigan Athletic on the same day with Caldwell being replaced by Matt Taylor on 3 March 2026.[19][20][21] On 9 March 2026, Northampton Town announced that they had parted company with manager Kevin Nolan with Northampton in 23rd place upon his departure.[22]

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2024–25 season:

Stadiums and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Personnel, sponsoring and season articles

More information Team, Manager ...
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor (chest) Shirt sponsor (back) Shirt sponsor (sleeve) Shorts sponsor
AFC Wimbledon England Johnnie Jackson England Jake Reeves Italy Lotto[23] Football Manager (H)/War Child (A)/Private Office Asset Management (T)[24][25] Togglit Silvermere Golf Store[26] DFTBA
Barnsley Republic of Ireland Conor Hourihane Republic of Ireland Luca Connell[27] England Oxen The Investment Room (H) / Rapid Response Telecoms (A)[28][29] Vitruvian Dental Studio[30] The Investment Room[28] Rapid Response Telecoms
Blackpool England Ian Evatt England James Husband Germany Puma[31] TreadTracker.com[32] (H)/Pleasure Beach Resort (A) Visit Blackpool None None
Bolton Wanderers England Steven Schumacher Northern Ireland Eoin Toal Italy Macron Victorian Plumbing[33](H & A)/Bolton Wanderers in the Community (T) Ebuyer Whites Beaconsfield[34] Destinology
Bradford City Scotland Graham Alexander England Max Power Italy Macron[35] JCT600[36] University of Bradford Flamingo Land/Penny Appeal (in league cup matches) Regal Foods
Burton Albion England Gary Bowyer England Udoka Godwin-Malife England TAG Burton Kia[37] Russell Roof Tiles Home and Trade Hardy Signs
Wales Cardiff City Republic of Ireland Brian Barry-Murphy England Calum Chambers United States New Balance Visit Malaysia Quinnbet[38] Watches of Bath[39] Nyne Capital[40]
Doncaster Rovers Northern Ireland Grant McCann England Owen Bailey England Oxen Eco-Power Group Stoneacre Motor Group MF Hire IPM Group
Exeter City England Matt Taylor Republic of Ireland Pierce Sweeney Germany Adidas[41] HEL Performance[42] Taking Care Personal Alarms[43] Bidfood[44] EMS Waste Services
Huddersfield Town England Liam Manning England Ryan Ledson England Castore[45] HEYDUDE[46] Utilita[47] Core Facility Leading Edge Signage
Leyton Orient England Richie Wellens England Will Forrester Germany Puma[48] Eastdil Secured[49] Moore Kingston Smith Peritium Search Associates Quattro Group
Lincoln City England Michael Skubala Zimbabwe Tendayi Darikwa England Oxen[50] Branston[51] (H)/University of Lincoln[52] (A) Allen Signs Easy Heat Pumps Nicholsons Chartered Accountants
Luton Town England Jack Wilshere Scotland Kal Naismith England Reflo[53] Capital Sky[54] Utilita[55] Switchshop[56] None
Mansfield Town England Nigel Clough Republic of Ireland Ryan Sweeney Italy Errea[57] One Call Insurance (H)/OCL Solicitors (A)/BeeNoticed (T) A. Wass Funeral Directors (H)/AGG Electrical Safety Testing (A) Source Travel[58] (H) A Woodland & Son
Northampton Town Vacant England Jon Guthrie Germany Puma[59] University of Northampton Snowdon Homes Ltd Green Ape Media LCS The Cleaning Company
Peterborough United England Luke Williams England Sam Hughes Germany Puma Mick George Princebuild Next Level FibreOptics Millfield Auto Parts
Plymouth Argyle England Tom Cleverley England Joe Edwards Germany Puma Classic Builders[60] Project 35 Vertu Motors Retain Limited
Port Vale Australia Jon Brady England Ben Garrity Germany Puma[61] None[62] Staffordshire University IronMarket Wealth Global QA
Reading England Leam Richardson England Lewis Wing Italy Macron Select Car Leasing[63] Village Hotel Club[64] Barracuda Networks[65] CRL Fire & Flood Damage
Rotherham United England Lee Clark Republic of Ireland Joe Rafferty Germany Puma[66] Bluebell Wood KCM Waste Management Defaqto Mears Group
Stevenage England Alex Revell England Carl Piergianni Italy Macron Xsolla HG Group Everyone Active Perfect Pet Insurance
Stockport County England Dave Challinor England Lewis Bate[67] Germany Puma VITA DeliveryApp GroFu[68] None
Wigan Athletic Scotland Gary Caldwell Scotland Jason Kerr[69] Germany Puma Smurfit Westrock[70] Greenmount Projects None None
Wycombe Wanderers Northern Ireland Michael Duff[71] Scotland Jack Grimmer[72] Denmark Hummel[73] Origin Doors and Windows Buckinghamshire New University Kress Cherry Red Records
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Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in the table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Wales Cardiff City Wales Aaron Ramsey End of interim spell 3 May 2025 Pre-season Republic of Ireland Brian Barry-Murphy[74] 16 June 2025
Huddersfield Town England Jon Worthington England Lee Grant[75] 28 May 2025
Plymouth Argyle Austria Miron Muslić[76] Signed by Germany Schalke 04 31 May 2025 England Tom Cleverley[77] 13 June 2025
Wycombe Wanderers England Mike Dodds[78] Sacked 18 September 2025 19th Northern Ireland Michael Duff[71] 18 September 2025
Blackpool England Steve Bruce[79] 4 October 2025 23rd England Ian Evatt[80] 21 October 2025
Luton Town England Matt Bloomfield[81] 6 October 2025 11th England Jack Wilshere 13 October 2025
Peterborough United Scotland Darren Ferguson[82] 25 October 2025 24th England Luke Williams[83] 29 October 2025
Reading Republic of Ireland Noel Hunt[84] 26 October 2025 19th England Leam Richardson[85] 28 October 2025
Port Vale Jamaica Darren Moore[86] 28 December 2025 24th Australia Jon Brady[87] 6 January 2026
Huddersfield Town England Lee Grant[88] 17 January 2026 6th England Liam Manning[89] 20 January 2026
Wigan Athletic England Ryan Lowe[90] 7 February 2026 22nd Scotland Gary Caldwell[91] 16 February 2026
Exeter City Scotland Gary Caldwell[92] Signed by Wigan Athletic 16 February 2026 14th England Matt Taylor[93] 3 March 2026
Northampton Town England Kevin Nolan[94] Sacked 9 March 2026 23rd
Rotherham United England Matt Hamshaw[95] 18 March 2026 22nd England Lee Clark[96] 18 March 2026
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League table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Lincoln City (C, P) 46 31 10 5 89 41 +48 103 Promotion to EFL Championship
2 Cardiff City (P) 46 27 10 9 90 50 +40 91
3 Stockport County 46 22 11 13 71 58 +13 77 Qualification for League One play-offs
4 Bradford City 46 22 11 13 58 51 +7 77
5 Bolton Wanderers 46 19 18 9 70 52 +18 75
6 Stevenage 46 21 12 13 49 46 +3 75
7 Luton Town 46 21 11 14 68 56 +12 74
8 Plymouth Argyle 46 22 7 17 75 63 +12 73
9 Huddersfield Town 46 18 13 15 74 64 +10 67
10 Mansfield Town 46 16 17 13 62 50 +12 65
11 Wycombe Wanderers 46 17 12 17 69 58 +11 63
12 Reading 46 16 15 15 64 60 +4 63
13 Blackpool 46 17 9 20 54 65 11 60
14 Doncaster Rovers 46 17 9 20 50 69 19 60
15 Barnsley 46 15 14 17 68 73 5 59
16 Wigan Athletic 46 14 14 18 49 58 9 56
17 Burton Albion 46 13 15 18 50 60 10 54
18 Peterborough United 46 15 8 23 64 68 4 53
19 AFC Wimbledon 46 15 8 23 51 72 21 53
20 Leyton Orient 46 14 10 22 59 71 12 52
21 Exeter City (R) 46 12 13 21 52 61 9 49 Relegation to EFL League Two
22 Port Vale (R) 46 10 12 24 36 61 25 42
23 Rotherham United (R) 46 10 11 25 41 71 30 41
24 Northampton Town (R) 46 9 8 29 39 74 35 35
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Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[97]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

More information Home \ Away, WIM ...
Home \ Away WIM BAR BLP BOL BRA BRT CAR DON EXE HUD LEY LIN LUT MAN NOR PET PLY PVL REA ROT STE STK WIG WYC
AFC Wimbledon 2–0 4–1 0–1 3–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–4 2–4 2–0 0–3 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 1–1 3–2 2–1 0–0 0–2 1–2 2–1
Barnsley 3–3 2–1 1–1 2–2 3–2 1–1 0–1 2–1 3–1 3–2 0–2 5–0 2–3 2–2 2–1 0–3 0–2 3–2 0–1 3–1 1–3 1–1 0–1
Blackpool 0–2 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 3–2 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 0–4 3–2 0–3 4–0 2–3 1–2 1–1 1–1
Bolton Wanderers 3–0 3–2 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 3–3 2–1 1–1 2–3 0–1 0–0 2–1 2–0 4–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 2–2 4–1 3–2
Bradford City 3–2 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–1
Burton Albion 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 3–1 0–4 0–1 0–3 2–1 5–1 0–1 0–4 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 3–0 0–2 0–0
Cardiff City 4–1 4–0 0–0 2–0 1–3 0–1 4–3 1–0 3–2 4–3 0–2 3–1 3–0 5–1 2–1 4–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–2
Doncaster Rovers 1–2 1–2 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 0–4 1–0 1–0 3–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–2 2–1 1–5 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–2 3–3 1–1
Exeter City 1–0 3–0 4–1 1–5 1–2 1–1 0–4 3–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 3–0 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–4 3–0 3–3 1–1 1–1
Huddersfield Town 3–3 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 3–0 2–2 1–0 1–4 2–0 3–2 3–1 5–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–3
Leyton Orient 1–3 1–3 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 4–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–3 0–1 3–1 0–2 2–3 2–2 2–0 2–0
Lincoln City 1–0 3–1 4–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 4–0 5–2 3–2 1–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 3–1 2–2 4–3
Luton Town 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 3–2 2–1 3–0 2–2 0–2 2–1 2–1 2–3 2–2 2–3 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 4–0
Mansfield Town 2–2 2–2 2–0 0–1 3–0 0–0 5–4 1–2 0–0 1–3 4–1 0–2 2–2 4–1 1–2 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–0
Northampton Town 3–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–2 1–3 1–3 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–3 0–1 0–2 1–2 3–1 0–0 1–3 1–2
Peterborough United 5–0 0–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 3–3 2–3 1–0 0–3 0–2 0–0 2–1 0–1 1–3 1–1 5–0 0–1 3–0 6–1 2–1
Plymouth Argyle 1–2 1–3 1–0 1–2 0–1 3–0 5–2 2–1 2–2 3–1 0–1 1–4 1–0 1–1 0–3 0–1 2–1 1–4 1–0 1–0 4–2 1–1 1–1
Port Vale 0–1 0–0 5–1 1–0 0–2 2–2 0–0 0–1 1–3 0–0 2–3 0–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–3 0–0 0–0
Reading 1–2 2–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–3 1–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 1–2 3–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 3–0 3–2
Rotherham United 1–1 1–3 0–3 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–3 1–2 1–0 1–3 1–0 3–0 0–2 0–0 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–1
Stevenage 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 2–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–0
Stockport County 3–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 4–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–3 0–1 2–1 3–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 3–2 1–3 4–2 3–0
Wigan Athletic 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–2 3–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 0–3 1–0 1–2 3–0 0–0 1–1 0–1
Wycombe Wanderers 2–0 2–2 0–1 2–1 1–2 3–0 1–1 4–0 0–1 3–0 4–1 3–2 1–2 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–1 4–0 2–2 3–2 3–1 1–2 2–0
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Source: BBC Sport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Play-offs

Bracket

Semi-finals Final
        
6 Stevenage 0 0 0
3 Stockport County 1 2 3
3 Stockport County
5 Bolton Wanderers
5 Bolton Wanderers 1 1 2
4 Bradford City 0 0 0

Semi-finals

First leg
More information Stevenage, 0−1 ...
Stevenage0−1Stockport County
Report
  • Osborn 90+4'
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Attendance: 7,321
Referee: Charles Breakspear
More information Bolton Wanderers, 1−0 ...
Close
Attendance: 22,789
Referee: Martin Coy
Second leg
More information Stockport County, 2−0 ...
Close
Attendance: 10,243
Referee: Josh Smith

Stockport County won 3-0 on aggregate

More information Bradford City, 0−1 ...
Close
Attendance: 22,381
Referee: Thomas Kirk

Bolton Wanderers won 2-0 on aggregate

Final

More information Stockport County, v ...
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Season statistics

As of 2 May 2026

Top goalscorers

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Dom Ballard Leyton Orient 23
2 England Jayden Wareham Exeter City 19
England Kyle Wootton Stockport County
4 Switzerland Lorent Tolaj Plymouth Argyle
Port Vale
18
5 England Harry Leonard Peterborough United 16
England Jack Marriott Reading
Canada Aribim Pepple Plymouth Argyle
8 England Ashley Fletcher Blackpool 15
Republic of Ireland David McGoldrick Barnsley
Wales Joe Taylor Wigan Athletic
Huddersfield Town
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Hat-tricks

More information Player, For ...
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Clean sheets

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Republic of Ireland Josh Keeley Luton Town 11
England Nathan Trott Cardiff City
3 England Filip Marschall Stevenage 10
England Joe Whitworth Exeter City
England George Wickens Lincoln City
6 England Sam Walker Bradford City 9
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Discipline

Player

  • Most yellow cards: 14

Club

Awards

Monthly

Each month the EFL announces their official Player of the Month and Manager of the Month.

Annual

More information Award, Winner ...
Award Winner Club
Player of the Season England Dom Ballard[107] Leyton Orient
Young Player of the Season
Apprentice of the Season Spain Sulyman Krubally[108] Burton Albion
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League One Team of the Season

More information Pos., Player ...
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See also

References

Related Articles

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