2002–03 Football League First Division
The 2002–03 Football League First Division (referred to as the Nationwide First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the league under its current format as the second tier of English football.
| Season | 2002–03 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Portsmouth (3rd divisional title) |
| Promoted | Portsmouth Leicester City Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Relegated | Sheffield Wednesday Brighton & Hove Albion Grimsby Town |
| Matches played | 557 |
| Goals scored | 1,512 (2.71 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Svetoslav Todorov (26 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Nottm Forest 6–0 Stoke, Wolves 6–0 Gillingham |
| Biggest away win | Millwall 0–6 Rotherham |
| Highest scoring | Grimsby 6–5 Burnley, Burnley 4–7 Watford |
| Longest winning run | 7 games Portsmouth |
| Longest unbeaten run | 15 games Leicester City |
| Longest winless run | 16 games Stoke City |
| Longest losing run | 12 games Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Average attendance | 15,599 |
← 2001–02 2003–04 → | |
Portsmouth won the division to return to the Premier League after a fifteen-year absence. In Harry Redknapp's first full season in charge the team secured the title on 27 April, with a victory over Rotherham, having been promoted with four games to spare by defeating Burnley.
Leicester City were promoted at the first attempt following their relegation. Their promotion was contentious as they entered administration during the season due to debts in excess of £50 million stemming from their loss of Premier League income and major investment in a new stadium, but were able to write-off these entirely when a new consortium took control and therefore avoided having to sell off players. Following this incident, the Football League would introduce rules that penalised any club entering administration with a ten-point points deduction; although Leicester would still have finished in second place had been this been applied.
Wolverhampton Wanderers won the play-offs to reach the modern-day Premiership for the first time after a 3–0 win in the play-off final against a Sheffield United team which had reached the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions. This marked a return to top-flight football for Wolves after a nineteen-year exodus that had seen them fall as low as the fourth tier. Also leaving the division were Sheffield Wednesday, Brighton & Hove Albion and Grimsby Town, who were all relegated.