Fixtures, dates & teams in contention
As we now enter the second half of the League One season, it’s time for fans to look up and book the play-off dates.
Watching your team lose in the play-offs is one of the most painful things a football fan can endure, but there’s nothing quite like watching your team win them to gain promotion.
It’s unclear which teams they’ll be contesting in League One this year, but at least we can tell you who’s in it and when the games will take place.
Each season, three teams from League One advance to the championship. Title winners and runners-up will automatically advance, with final place determined by two-legged semi-finals and a final at Wembley. The teams ranked third through sixth qualify for the playoffs. These three teams will be replaced by teams relegated from the championship.
Meanwhile, the bottom four teams are relegated from the first division and to the second division, which sends another four teams as substitutes.
The weekend of May 6th will be the last of the League One season and will determine what the play-off games will look like. After that, the play-off semi-final dates will be announced, but it is already expected that the first legs will be played in the following week.
The team that takes third place takes sixth place, while the fourth and fifth teams compete in the other duel.
When is the 2023 League One Play-off Finals?
The winners of the two semi-finals face off in a one-legged final at Wembley, with the winner gaining promotion to the Championship and the loser remaining in League One.
It has already been confirmed that the game will take place between May 27th and May 29th and will most likely kick off in the afternoon.
As always in League One, many teams still have a real chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday have a healthy lead on those below them and will be confident of claiming the two automatic promotion spots, but how things will develop beyond that is very unclear.
Third-placed Ipswich look like a safe bet to play in either semi-final, as does Derby, but Bolton and Barnsley – currently fifth and sixth – are in serious danger of dropping out if they slip, especially if Peterborough and Port Vale win their games in hand.
position | team | played | won | Drawn | Lost | goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Plymouth | 27 | 17 | 7 | 3 | +20 | 58 |
2 | Sheffield Wednesday | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | +28 | 55 |
3 | Ipswich | 26 | 14 | 9 | 3 | +22 | 51 |
4 | derbies | 25 | 12 | 8th | 5 | +17 | 44 |
5 | Bolton | 26 | 12 | 8th | 6 | +13 | 44 |
6 | barnsley | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8th | +7 | 40 |
7 | Wycombe | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | +6 | 38 |
8th | Bristol Rovers | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 37 |
9 | Peterborough | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | +8 | 35 |
10 | Exeter city | 26 | 9 | 8th | 9 | +2 | 35 |
11 | Port Vale | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | -5 | 35 |
From January 15, 2023.
Sky Sports holds the broadcasting rights to Football League matches in the UK. They show playoff games from across the Championship, League One and League Two on their various television and streaming services such as Sky Sports Football/Main Event and Sky GO.
For those in the US, the ESPN+ streaming service is showing the games. A subscription costs $9.99, or $99.99 per year, with purchases available on ESPN.com or their app.
Huddersfield, Walsall and Peterborough have won the League One play-offs the most times, with each having been promoted twice through that route.
However, neither side have prevailed in over a decade since Huddersfield Town beat Sheffield United on penalties in 2012, a year after they were beaten 3-0 by Peterborough at Wembley.
Sunderland won the final last year, beating Wycombe 2-0 after losing the same game to Charlton in 2019.
Clubs that win the League One play-offs earn a significant sum as a result of subsequent promotion to the league.
Combining base bonuses and solidarity payments from Premier League clubs, League One teams receive around £1.5m at the start of a season. In the Championship, that figure is much higher at around £6.7million
Championship clubs are also making more money hosting matches that are televised and can expect to sell more tickets given the higher level.
