The 12 biggest clubs in EFL League One named and ranked by AI | OneFootball

AI ranks the 12 biggest clubs in League One.

League One is a deeply unpredictable playing field, where fallen giants meet upwardly mobile upstarts, and consistency is a luxury few can afford.

The third tier offers a chaotic blend of former Premier League names, EFL stalwarts, and ambitious sides fresh from League Two.

So, ahead of the 2025/26 season, Football League World turned to AI chatbot, ChatGPT, to analyse who the 12 biggest clubs in the third tier are.

Here are the 12 biggest clubs currently sitting in League One.

Suffering relegation at the end of last term, Cardiff will play third-tier football for the first time in over 20 years. Being in the Premier League as recently as 2019, with a fantastic 33,000-capacity stadium in south Wales, the Bluebirds take the crown as the biggest club in League One.

Despite recent turmoil, the club are one of the red-hot favourites to reclaim their Championship place at the first time of asking, with a season in the third tier offering a viable chance at a 'reset' to spring the club further forward.

2 Luton Town

As done by Wolves and Sunderland in the 2010s, Luton added themselves to an unfavourable list of clubs to suffer back-to-back relegations.

While the argument can certainly be made that the Hatters have been punching above their weight for many years since their promotion to the Championship in 2019, Luton are now far much more than a League One club.

Being in the Premier League just over a year ago, the Hatters were imagined to be one of the sides battling at the top end of the Championship last term. However, an unexpected successive relegation now places Luton as the second-biggest club in League One, and Matt Bloomfield's men will be one of the red-hot favourites for promotion this term.

3 Bolton Wanderers

A Premier League side for 13 successive seasons before 2012, Bolton Wanderers are often kept in high regard when remembering the top flight of the 2000s.

However, after suffering relegation under Owen Coyle in 2012, Wanderers have not had even a sniff of reaching the top flight, and even dropped to League Two in 2020, with the club facing potential extinction.

Wanderers are now back to a reliable League One level. Despite recent turmoil, the club sits towards the top of the most renowned and respected clubs in the division, with their Toughsheet Community Stadium boasting an impressive capacity of over 28,000.

As with many other clubs on this list, Huddersfield are also a recent Premier League side, with the Terriers being relegated back to the EFL in 2019 after two seasons in the top flight.

After a hit-and-miss period in the second tier, Huddersfield were relegated to League One in 2024, just two years after a play-off final loss against Nottingham Forest.

Recent history, good infrastructure and a 24,500-capacity stadium place the Terriers high on the list of the biggest in League One.

Reading fans have seen almost everything since the turn of the millennium. Multiple Premier League spells, promotion and relegation battles, play-off heartbreak, and recent ownership struggles placed the club's very future in doubt.

However, a Championship mainstay for most of their history, Reading is a club made for, at the very least, second-tier football. With a strong academy producing the likes of Michael Olise, a 24,000 stadium, and a loyal fanbase through times of crisis, the Royals see themselves placed as the fifth-biggest club in League One.

The 2013 FA Cup winners have bounced between the Championship and League One since their relegation to the second tier in the same year as their cup triumph.

Similarly with their Lancashire neighbours, Bolton, Wigan are looked upon fondly by Premier League supporters of the 2000s and early 2010s, with figures like Hugo Rodallega, James McCarthy, Franco Di Santo and Ali Al-Habsi often featuring in the 'Barclaysmen' trend looking back at the top-flight of the time.

Despite only having one major honour to their name, the Latics are looked upon fondly and sit among some of the biggest clubs in League One currently.

7 Barnsley

South Yorkshire outfit Barnsley have continued to bounce between the second and third tiers for several years now. However, the Tykes have settled in League One since their most recent relegation in 2022.

The club had a sniff at promotion to the top flight under Valerien Ismael the year prior in 2021. However, they lost out to Swansea City over two legs.

Widely considered a yo-yo side between the Championship and League One, Barnsley have finished fourth and sixth in the third tier following relegation.

8 Bradford City

Achieving promotion to League One at the expense of Walsall on the final day of last term, Bradford have reclaimed their place in the third tier after suffering relegation in 2019.

Boasting an incredible capacity of almost 25,000 in the fourth tier, the Bantams are now looking to stabilise back in the third tier after a six-year absence.

9 Blackpool

Alongside Wigan and Bolton, Blackpool's Premier League antics in the 2010/11 campaign are remembered fondly. Despite their top-flight stay lasting just a season, the exciting football under Ian Holloway earned the club plaudits that still look back on the campaign to this day.

Since relegation, however, Blackpool have bounced between the second and third tiers, and have finished eighth and ninth in League One following their relegation from the Championship in 2023.

10 Peterborough United

Winning their third EFL Trophy at Wembley against Birmingham City earlier this year, Posh are tied with Bristol City as the most successful team in the competition.

And while they have spent just six seasons in the second tier compared to 33 in League One, Peterborough are well-renowned across the football league for their consistency and talent spotting, with Harrison Burrows, Ivan Toney, and most recently Kwame Poku all going on to earn moves elsewhere as a result of their performances at Weston Homes Stadium.