League One play-offs 2024: Fixtures, dates, prize money & more

The League One play-offs offer a chance to those who just missed out on automatic promotion, with four teams battling it out to see who can secure promotion to the Championship. With the winner getting the opportunity to gain more exposure and enjoy greater financial gains, as well as being just one step away from the bright lights of the Premier League, it’s a prize well worth fighting for.

The regular League One season has now concluded, with the fight for the play-offs finally coming to an end. With Portsmouth and Derby going up, one from the remaining four sides will join them in the second tier.

Football FanCast has taken a look ahead at the details concerning the upcoming 2024 EFL League One play-offs, which is now just a few weeks away.

How the League One play-offs work

Just like all the EFL play-offs, the League One play-offs consist of two semi-finals: the team that finishes in third play the team finishing in sixth; the team finishing in fourth plays the team who finished fifth.

One team advances from each semi-final tie, which is settled over two legs home and away, with the team leading on aggregate after 180 minutes of football (or more) advancing to the final. The team who finished lower will be at home for the first leg, whilst the team who finished higher will be at home for the deciding return leg.

In the event of a tie after 180 minutes of football, the match will be settled via extra-time and penalties if the score is still level following an additional 30 minutes.

Wembley Stadium is the stage for the League One play-off final, with the winner lifting the trophy and securing promotion to the Championship. As usual, extra-time and penalties are required if both teams are tied at the end of normal time, with the losing team spending another season in League One.

Current League One standings

Teams placed from third to sixth make it into the League One play-offs, with the top two going up automatically.

Derby did their bit on the final day to join Portsmouth in the Championship, while Oxford United sneaked into fifth place ahead of Lincoln City, who lost to Pompey on the final day.

Bolton had to settle for third place ahead of last-day opponents Peterborough United, who they could yet face again at Wembley, while Barnsley also assured themselves a shot at promotion after a draw against Northampton Town at home.

2024 League One play-off dates

The 2024 League One play-off semi-final will take place in early May, with the final being held on Saturday 18th May 2024 at Wembley Stadium.

The semi-final dates have now officially been announced by the EFL, but are subject to confirmation.

Where to watch the 2024 League One play-offs on UK TV and live-stream

Fans will be able to watch the League One playoffs live on Sky Sports, as well as Sky Go if you’re looking for an online streaming platform.

If you’re from over the pond in the US, League One play-off games are available to watch and stream live on ESPN+ and the ESPN network.

How and where to buy League One play-off semi-final tickets

Barnsley v Bolton

Barnsley: Full ticket information for Barnsley’s clash with Bolton can be found here. Tickets are available for season ticket holders, as well as those with a previous booking history. Supporters have until 5pm on Friday 3rd May to purchase their tickets.

For the return leg, the Tykes have an allocation of 2,163 tickets. The tickets are available to buy depending on the amount of loyalty points from Wednesday 1st May, with other season ticket holders and members with a purchase history able to buy from Thursday 2nd May. All tickets have to be purchased by 12pm on Tuesday 7th May.

Bolton: Tickets for the first leg will be available until 10am on matchday, with club members able to buy one ticket each, subject to availability.

The return leg at the Toughsheet Community Stadium are on sale to season ticket holders until 5pm on Thursday 2nd May, at which point tickets go on general sale.

Oxford: Oxford United have confirmed that both their matches against Peterborough have been sold out. However, there is still “extremely currently limited availability” for the home leg through the club’s executive packages. Oxford’s second leg allocation sold out in under 30 minutes.

Peterborough: For Saturday’s first leg, tickets are still on sale to members with a certain amount of priority points – details can be found here. Tickets will remain available until 3pm on Friday 3rd May at the latest.

Over 4,500 tickets have already been sold for the return leg at London Road, with members with 50 or more priority points able to buy tickets from Thursday 2nd May, before a restricted general sale window from 10am on Friday 3rd May, though only registered members are able to purchase tickets.

How and where to buy League One play-off final tickets

Official ticket information for the final will appear here when it becomes available.

Sadly, as with any final that attracts major attention, quite a lot of corporate tickets will be handed out, which is obviously frustrating for fans as people are likely to miss out on attending the final due to the shortfall in seats both clubs get.

Last year, Barnsley were given 37,325 tickets for the West End of Wembley Stadium, whilst Sheffield Wednesday were allocated 36,634 tickets for the East End. However, there have been previous instances, which most recently involved Sunderland, where clubs can be given a slightly higher allocation due to high ticket demand.

Ticketmaster has been used by clubs in recent times to manage high demand for tickets and ensure a simple process, so that may be the case for this season’s final.

Should your side make it to the final, there may be a tiered system in terms of tickets, with the priority going to the season ticket holders and it filtering down tier by tier until the allocation is filled.

How much the League One play-off final is worth

Of course, it may not be as glamorous as the potential £265m you can earn from securing promotion to the Premier League, but for a club advancing from League One to the Championship, a potential prize of £6-7m is still rather sweet.

Interestingly, clubs in the third tier receive around £1.4m, partly from a basic award and a solidarity payment. As a Championship club, there are plenty more riches to be had, with the same awards as a second-tier club totalling around £6-7m. That is due, in part, to the increased levels of TV revenue per live game as well as the money handed down from the Premier League to the EFL clubs.

Last year’s League One play-off final

Following the conclusion of the 2022/23 League One regular season, Peterborough United, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers all battled it out for a place in the Championship.

The Posh flew out the blocks and secured a 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the first leg, whilst Bolton and Barnsley played out a 1-1 draw.

Things really heated up in the second leg at Hillsborough, as the Owls did the impossible to overturn a four-goal deficit to win on penalties with the score standing at 5-1 in the match after extra time.

In the other semi-final, Barnsley made home advantage count as they booked their place in the final with a 1-0 win.

The final at Wembley was a rather nervy encounter for both sets of fans as the two sides couldn’t be separated after 90 minutes. It took 123 minutes of football for there to be a winner crowned, as Josh Windass popped up with an injury-time goal to send Sheffield Wednesday fans into a frenzy as promotion to the Championship was secured.