Best Second Tier

The EFL Championship is the second-highest division of professional football in England, renamed in 2004, and is notably one of the most attended second-tier sports leagues globally.

The J2 League is Japan's second-tier professional football division, established in 1999 as the promotion-relegation tier directly below the top-flight J1 League.

The Victorian Football League, a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in Victoria, serving as the primary state-level development league for AFL clubs.

K League 2 is South Korea's second-tier professional football league, established in 2013, with promotion and relegation linking it to the top-flight K League 1.

Europe's second-tier club basketball competition, founded in 2002, providing clubs a competitive pathway toward earning promotion to the EuroLeague.

The USL Championship is the second-tier professional soccer league in the United States, launched in 2011, and features a highly regionalized conference structure to minimize travel.