League One kicks off with Luton Town v AFC Wimbledon on Friday, while League Two begins the following Saturday
Forget the Premier League and the Championship, Leagues One and Two will be getting the party started at the weekend.
The football season begins on Friday, 1 August when Luton Town, who made it to the top flight before consecutive relegations, face last season’s League Two play-off champions AFC Wimbledon at 20:00 BST.
The third and fourth tier get into full swing on a jam-packed Saturday, all before Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers wrap up the weekend with a derby showdown on Sunday.
Here’s five things to look out for during the opening weekend.
Luton Town were relegated from the Championship on the final day of last season, while AFC Wimbledon won the League Two play-offs to reach League One
The journey to League One for Luton Town and AFC Wimbledon couldn’t have been more stark.
Luton succumbed to a second successive relegation after the highs of reaching the Premier League in 2023, while also parting with the manager who got them there – the much-loved Rob Edwards, who left by mutual consent after a difficult first half to their Championship return.
But for the Dons, not even a flooded pitch could dampen their resolve. Their muddy middle was sandwiched between a strong start and a fabulous finish that saw them lift the League Two play-off trophy against a Walsall team who were just a point away from automatic promotion.
“We hope we are going to be challenging,” Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield, who took Wycombe Wanderers to the top of League One last season before leaving for Luton, told BBC Radio 3CR.
“We absolutely believe in what we are trying to do, we absolutely believe in what we want to achieve this season, but there’s going to be so many tests along the way.”
Will Cardiff’s return to third tier be short-lived?
Cardiff City were relegated back to League One on 26 April after a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion
Cardiff City have fallen on tough times. A lacklustre Championship campaign saw them finish bottom of the table.
The last time they dropped out of the second tier, it was a toil to return. Eighteen years after their relegation in 1985 passed before they finally won promotion – and the apparent deep rot in the club could make fans doubt a quick bounce-back this time as well.
A toxic relationship with owner Vincent Tan, a seemingly never-ending managerial roundabout and a start to last season that made club history as their worst on record – not necessarily the ingredients for a confident comeback.
The Bluebirds are currently being courted by a consortium that could see Tan replaced by the likes of Wales legend Gareth Bale and friends, but the deal, as it stands, seems unlikely to go through any time soon.
A good performance against Peterborough on Saturday in the early afternoon kick-off (12:30 BST) would help to quell some of the bad taste lingering around the home stands.
Oldham and Barnet look to sparkle on EFL return
Oldham Athletic clinched victory over Southend in the National League play-off final thanks to two goals in two minutes during added extra time
Oldham Athletic and Barnet are back, baby. The National League couldn’t hold them and now they return to the EFL ready to make themselves mainstays again.
It’s been seven years since the Bees were in the fourth tier and they returned in style as National League champions. They start by hosting Fleetwood on Saturday (15:00 BST).
At the same time, the Latics will be making a comeback of their own with a trip to MK Dons – though theirs has taken a while longer.
A dramatic play-off victory over Southend saw them re-enter the EFL after three seasons. The attendance broke the National League play-off record by more than 5,000 and boss Mickey Mellon is looking forward to more big crowds in League One.
“I think [MK Dons] are the favourites and have a fantastic stadium – I believe we are going to take close to 2,000 supporters there, which is an incredible backing,” Mellon told BBC Radio Manchester.
“MK Dons will be a terrific opportunity to find out about ourselves and we will learn from that.”
Can defeated play-off finalists become winners?
Mat Sadler’s Walsall were moments away from automatic promotion on the final day of the season before a late Bradford City winner
Just one goal separated Leyton Orient and Walsall from promotions last season.
For the O’s, not even League One’s top scorer Charlie Kelman could grab them an equaliser after Charlton’s Macaulay Gillesphey scored from a free-kick to seal their fate in last season’s play-off final.
But Kelman is no longer at the club and more than half of Orient’s starting XI from that day at Wembley have now departed as they prepare for their opening game of the new season at Huddersfield on Saturday (15:00 BST).
The Saddlers, having been 12 points clear at the top of League Two midway through last season, fell into a gobsmacking spiral that saw them miss out on automatic promotion by a point on the final day of the regular season and culminated in a 1-0 play-off final defeat by AFC Wimbledon.
Having been so close to glory, will they be front-runners again or will their stumble continue?
Like Orient, Walsall have seen a glut of players leave the club as they try to mount a fresh promotion challenge, starting at home to Swindon on Saturday (15:00 BST).
A new era for Bradford City?
Fans flooded the pitch after midfielder Antoni Sarcevic scored the promotion-winning goal against Fleetwood Town to delay the conclusion of the match by 15 minutes
Thousands turned up to celebrate Bradford City’s ascension to League One after Antoni Sarcevic scored the 96th-minute winner on the final day of the season to secure the last automatic promotion place ahead of Walsall.
It’s been a six-year wait to return to the third tier and even longer for the Bantams to have earned it through automatic promotion. You have to cast your memory back to 1999 to find their last success in similar fashion.
“We are all excited about the new season; new division, half a new squad, the lads that worked so hard last year to be here to support us. We are looking forward to it,” Bantams boss Graham Alexander told BBC Radio Leeds.
Could they climb all the way back to the top flight? They face an early test in last season’s promotion contenders Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday (15:00 BST), but if they pass it, expect the UK’s City of Culture to be rocking.
You can follow the entire weekend as it happens here on the BBC Sport website and app, starting with live text coverage of Luton Town v AFC Wimbledon on 1 August from 19:30 BST.
But this is just the beginning. We will have live text commentary of the League One and Two campaigns all season right here on BBC Sport.
