League One (Scotland) 2026/27

The Scottish League One represents the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), positioned below the Premiership and the Championship. It operates as the primary feeder league for the second tier, governing a season that runs from summer to spring with ten participating clubs. The structure is defined by a double round-robin format where each side plays every opponent twice. This system ensures that every team faces its rivals at home and away, creating a balanced schedule over the course of the campaign.

Success in the league yields direct promotion for the champion to the Scottish Championship. The remaining promotion places are decided through a play-off system involving the teams finishing in second, third, and fourth positions. These sides compete against the ninth-placed team from the Championship in a series of knockout ties. The top two league finishers play each other first, while the fourth-place side meets the Championship outsider. The winners of these initial matches then face off in a final to secure the second promotion spot.

Relegation is equally critical for survival. The club finishing at the bottom of the table is automatically dropped down to Scottish League Two. The team placed ninth must enter a separate play-off against the runners-up and third and fourth-placed sides from the fourth tier to avoid demotion. This two-tiered system of promotion and relegation keeps the competition intense until the final fixtures. The league has been branded under the name William Hill League One due to sponsorship agreements. Historically, the tier has seen various structural changes since its inception as Division C in 1946, evolving into its modern configuration in 2013 when the SPFL was formed. Stirling Albion holds the record for the most titles won in this division across all its historical iterations.