Bromley have been promoted to League One for the first time in their history with two games of the season to spare.
The Ravens were made to wait to achieve the feat after losing to MK Dons and drawing with Cambridge over the past week.
But Notts County’s defeat to Barnet on Saturday means the League Two leaders can no longer be caught in the automatic promotion places.
Founded in 1892, the Ravens took 132 years to reach the EFL, but in just their second season they have reached the third tier.
It is a sensational achievement for the south-east London club, led by boss Andy Woodman.
Bromley are seven points clear for fourth-placed Salford after Saturday’s results and finish the campaign with games against Salford and Walsall.
‘The rise has been remarkable’
Sky Sports’ EFL Editor Simeon Gholam:
“It took Bromley 132 years to reach the Football League. It has taken just two for them to get from League Two to League One.
“A small community club tucked away in the corner of south-east London, it seemed unthinkable when they won the National League play-off final in 2024 to reach the EFL. This is not a club that has had money pumped into it. It is success achieved with graft, togetherness and endeavour.
“Andy Woodman, in charge since 2021, has been the driving force at the helm. He never let them rest on their laurels when they reached League Two, insisting the only way was up.
“Last season they threatened the play-offs, before falling away towards the end, this season they have stormed the division.
“After a slowish start, they hit the top of at the end of December and have held that spot throughout the entirety of this calendar year.
“Hayes Lane, their home since 1938, holds just over 6,000 fans – less than 2,000 of those are seated. They have had to modify and update the ground as they’ve grown and had to tear out their old artificial pitch just two summers ago when they reached the EFL.
“It will next host League One football and sides that have played in the Premier League and, for some, even in Europe in the 21st century.
“The rise has been remarkable.”
‘Bromley identity unique in the EFL… it is a real Cinderella story’
Dave Edwards on the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast:
“It is one of the most wonderful community football club’s I’ve visited. It’s very unique, especially in the EFL, to have a place like that.
Bromley were only promoted from the National League in 2024
“They’ve got the social club in the corner where all the fans are before the game, then they come back out, and there’s all the ‘Player of the Match’ stuff in there at the end.
“Andy Woodman has created something very special there and they’ve got the whole fanbase really engaged with it.
“I’m really happy for him. He’s come from a goalkeeping coach background, got this opportunity, grabbed it with both hands and excelled at this football club.
“Identity is so important for them. They are unapologetic in the way they play. A lot of people who watch them for the first time will think they’re a long-ball team, but they’re not. I would say they are a long-passing team.
“They play percentage football but they’re all on the same page. The amount of times they get down the sides, whether that’s a striker or the wingers getting in and putting crosses into the box, it’s so simple but so effective.
“It is a real Cinderella story.”
