EFL League One play-offs

Swindon Town won the first Third Division play-off final in 1987, requiring a replay to defeat Gillingham.

If, at the end of the regular 90 minutes of the second leg, the aggregate score is level then the match goes into extra time where two 15-minute halves are played.

If the score remains level at the end of extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shootout.

The clubs that win the semi-finals then meet at Wembley Stadium, a neutral venue, for a one-off match referred to as the "play-off final".

[2] The match, along with the finals of the Championship and League Two play-offs, usually takes place over the long weekend of the second bank holiday in May.

[6] Initially the Play-Offs would operate for two years, but if they proved popular with spectators they could become a permanent part of the calendar.

It was a ten-point plan which included a structural reorganisation of the league, reducing the top tier from 22 clubs to 20, and the introduction of play-offs to facilitate the change.

[11] In the final, Gillingham faced Second Division Swindon Town but they could not be separated over the two home-and-away legs, so the tie was settled in a replay.

[14] Played at Fellows Park two days after the second leg took place there, the match ended 4–0 to Walsall who were promoted.

[16] From 1990, the format of the final changed to a single match played at a neutral venue, initially the original Wembley Stadium.

The first winners of the inaugural one-off final were Notts County who beat Tranmere Rovers 2–0 in front of 29,252 spectators.

[25] The financial value of winning the EFL League One play-off is derived from the additional remuneration clubs receive in the Championship.

As of 2018[update] clubs in the third tier receive around £1.4 million, comprising a "basic award" and a "solidarity" payment, the latter of which is funded by the Premier League.