The format of the tournament included a regular phase in which the teams played each other in a two-round league system. The top two finishers at the end of the season earned direct promotion to the Premier League, while the teams in third through sixth place played in the playoffs for the third promotion.

This financial prize includes increases for television rights and sponsorship, which can transform a club financially, giving it the opportunity to invest in better players and infrastructure.

The Kassam Stadium was built whilst Oxford United played in Division Two (third tier); however, Oxford were relegated to Division Three (fourth tier) the season before the new stadium was built and were further relegated to the Conference National (fifth tier) in 2005–06. The club was previously based at The Manor Ground from 1925 until the opening of the Kassam Stadium in 2001. Following Oxford’s promotion from League One at the end of the 2023–24 season, the stadium will host Championship (second-tier) games for the first time in its history. Oxford’s fortunes on the pitch changed dramatically during this period of financial uncertainty, hardly helped by having to sell some of their best players in order to stay afloat. After winning promotion to Division One in 1996, they secured two mid-table finishes before being relegated back to Division Two in 1999 and falling into Division Three two years later – meaning that they would be a bottom division club in the 2001–02 season for the first time in more than 30 years.