The club with the longest current tenure in League One may be a surprise, their great escape was a ‘miracle’

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The 2025/26 League One campaign is set to be a fascinating one with new stories to be written over the course of the next year.

Huddersfield Town are building strongly, and Lee Grant is perhaps creating a team that will be the favourites for the title. However, the likes of Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Stockport County cannot be discounted.

With Gareth Bale interested in purchasing Cardiff City as part of a consortium, there will be a lot of focus on the South Wales outfit as they return to the third tier alongside Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle following relegation from the Championship.

But there is a different story that will be of huge interest to one side in particular, and EFL Analysis have taken a look at the club who currently have the longest active tenure in League One.

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Burton Albion are heading into their eighth consecutive League One campaign

Three teams are tied for the longest current Championship tenure, but in the third tier there is one winner and that is Burton Albion.

The Brewers have been in League One since the start of the 2018/19 season and while they have failed to threaten at the very top of the table during this time, they have been involved in many relegation scraps.

Last season, Albion were struggling greatly at the bottom of the table, but Gary Bowyer came in December to help turn their season around.

Burton’s deputy chairman Tom Davidson called the team’s turnaround under Bowyer (via: BBC Sport) “nothing short of a miracle”, and they are now preparing for yet another season in League One.

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Oldham Athletic hold the record for the longest consecutive run in the division

While the Brewers are heading into their eighth straight League One campaign, it will be a few more years before they can start looking at the all-time record.

Since the rebranding of the third tier in 2004, Oldham Athletic hold the record for the most consecutive years in the division.

The Latics spent 14 straight seasons in League One between 2004 and 2018, with their relegation to League Two ending that incredible run.

Oldham finished in the top half of the third tier just three times during that stint, and they are yet to return after winning promotion back to the EFL through the National League play-offs at the end of 2024/25.