The 2023–24 FA Trophy (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2023–24 Isuzu FA Trophy) was the 55th edition of the FA Trophy, an annual football competition for teams at levels 5–8 of the English football league system.
Format and eligibility Applications to enter the 55th edition of the FA Trophy needed to be submitted by 1 April 2023. Competing clubs had to compete between step 1 and step 4 of the non-League pyramid, equivalent to levels 5 to 8 of the overall English football league system. Furthermore, grounds had to conform to grade 4 of the FA National Ground Grading.
The calendar was announced by The Football Association on 1 July 2023. The competition consists of three qualifying rounds and eight proper rounds. Teams enter at different stages depending on their position in the English pyramid. Teams at level 8 enter into the first qualifying round and must win 11 matches to become champions. Level 7 teams enter into the third qualifying round and must win 9 matches to become champions. Level 6 teams enter into the second round proper and must win 7 matches to become champions. Level 5 teams enter into the third round proper and must win 6 matches to become champions.
All rounds are single-match knockout format, with the winner decided by penalties if the match was drawn after 90 minutes, apart from the Final where the winner was decided by extra-time and penalties if the match is drawn. This is the same format as the 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons which broke from previous seasons that used replays and two-legged semi-finals. The 2019–20 season was scheduled to play two-legged semi-finals but due to their delay by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom were shifted to a single match. All other previous editions played to the same format of replays and two-legged semi-finals.
FC Halifax Town were the reigning champions for the 2023–24 season, having defeated Gateshead in the 2023 FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium.
RoundMain DateNumber of FixturesClubs RemainingNew Entries This RoundLosing ClubWinning ClubFirst round qualifying9 September 202380 (incl. 1 bye)319 → 240159 (incl. 1 bye)£400£1,500Second round qualifying23 September 202340240 → 200none£575£2,250Third round qualifying7 October 202364200 → 13688£625£2,450First round proper28 October 202332136 → 104none£775£3,000Second round proper18 November 202340104 → 6448£1,000£3,750Third round proper 9 December 20233264 → 3224£1,250£4,500Fourth round proper13 January 20241632 → 16none£1,500£5,250Fifth round proper10 February 2024816 → 8£1,750£6,000Quarter-finals9 March 202448 → 4£2,000£7,500Semi-finals6 April 202424 → 2£5,000£15,000Final11 May 202412 → 1£30,000£60,000
First round qualifying The draw for the first qualifying round was made on 8 July 2023.
The first round of qualifying took place on the weekend of 8–10 September and involved 158 teams in 79 matches.The Isuzu FA Trophy Season 2023–24 List of Exemptions 159 teams, all from Level 8 of the English football league system, were drawn into 79 fixtures, with the leftover team, Hinckley LR, receiving a bye.
Tie Home team (level) Score Away team (level) Friday 8 September 2023 34 Bowers & Pitsea (8) 3–1 Gorleston (8) 153 66 Uxbridge (8) 1–2 Sevenoaks Town (8) 121 Match played at Slough Town. Saturday 9 September 2023 1 Brighouse Town (8) 1–1 Hebburn Town (8) 112 2 Liversedge (8) 0–3 Nantwich Town (8) 247 3 North Ferriby (8) 2–1 Ossett United (8) 472 4 Avro (8) 2–1 Winterton Rangers (8) 71 5 Mossley (8) 0–2 Vauxhall Motors (8) 397 6 Widnes (8) 0–1 Clitheroe (8) 136 7 Trafford (8) 1–2 Stalybridge Celtic (8) 595 8 Prescot Cables (8) 4–0 Bridlington Town (8) 514 9 Newton Aycliffe (8) 1–3 Stocksbridge Park Steels (8) 192 11 Dunston (8) 3–0 Ashington (8) 314 12 Bootle (8) 6–3 Consett (8) 309 13 Runcorn Linnets (8) 0–0 Witton Albion (8) 663 14 Stockton Town (8) 3–1 Pontefract Collieries (8) 391 15 Sporting Khalsa (8) 1–0 Grimsby Borough (8) 145 16 Quorn (8) 4–0 Coventry Sphinx (8) 185 17 Bedworth United (8) 1–5 Leek Town (8) 167 18 Anstey Nomads (8) 2–0 Corby Town (8) 228 19 Gresley Rovers (8) 0–6 Kidsgrove Athletic (8) 238 20 Belper Town (8) 2–0 Newcastle Town (8) 398 21 Sutton Coldfield Town (8) 0–2 Boldmere St. Michaels (8) 295 22 Rugby Town (8) 1–5 Grantham Town (8) 247 23 Hednesford Town (8) 0–3 Walsall Wood (8) 654 24 Harborough Town (8) 2–1 Lye Town 214 25 Sheffield (8) 1–1 Spalding United (8) 382 26 Hanley Town (8) 2–0 Cleethorpes Town (8) 227 27 Chasetown (8) 5–1 Shepshed Dynamo (8) 129 28 Loughborough Dynamo (8) 1–1 AFC Rushden & Diamonds (8) 195 29 Coleshill Town (8) 1–5 Carlton Town (8) 110 30 Leighton Town (8) 3–1 Kempston Rovers (8) 242 31 Felixstowe & Walton United (8) 2–0 Brentwood Town (8) 371 32 Hertford Town (8) 3–2 Grays Athletic (8) 245 33 AFC Dunstable (8) W/O East Thurrock United (8) AFC Dunstable awarded a Walkover following the liquidation of East Thurrock United on 1 September 2023. 35 Witham Town (8) 3–0 Maldon & Tiptree (8) 154 36 Lowestoft Town (8) 5–3 New Salamis (8) 332 38 Biggleswade (8) 3–1 Stowmarket Town (8) 101 39 Redbridge (8) 1–0 Stotfold (8) 63 40 Hadley (8) 4–1 Ware (8) 148
Tie Home team (level) Score Away team (level) 41 Aylesbury United (8) 2–3 Bedford Town (8) 148 42 Kings Langley (8) 1–2 Cambridge City (8) 177 43 Welwyn Garden City (8) 3–5 Basildon United (8) 95 44 Wroxham 2–4 Brightlingsea Regent (8) 210 45 Waltham Abbey (8) 6–2 Ipswich Wanderers (8) 130 46 Heybridge Swifts (8) 3–2 Barton Rovers (8) 161 47 Biggleswade Town (8) 2–3 Bury Town (8) 159 48 Beckenham Town (8) 1–5 Three Bridges 115 49 Horndean (8) 2–3 Ascot United (8) 110 50 Ramsgate (8) 3–0 Northwood (8) 416 51 Westfield (8) 4–1 Littlehampton Town (8) 104 52 Phoenix Sports (8) 1–1 Metropolitan Police (8) 90 53 Thame United (8) 0–5 Badshot Lea (8) 96 54 Raynes Park Vale (8) 0–1 Marlow (8) 144 55 Burgess Hill Town (8) 1–3 Hythe Town (8) 260 56 East Grinstead Town (8) 0–1 Sheppey United (8) 152 57 Chipstead (8) 2–4 Lancing (8) 120 58 Merstham (8) 0–3 Sutton Common Rovers (8) 116 59 South Park Reigate (8) 2–1 Erith & Belvedere (8) 69 60 Southall (8) 2–1 Chichester City (8) 61 61 Herne Bay (8) 1–6 Leatherhead (8) 226 62 Hanworth Villa (8) 1–1 Chertsey Town (8) 281 63 Sittingbourne (8) 2–1 Ashford Town (8) 96 65 Broadbridge Heath (8) 0–2 Cray Valley Paper Mills (8) 120 67 Corinthian Casuals (8) 0–2 Hartley Wintney (8) 188 68 Hamworthy United (8) 3–0 Melkssham Town (8) 68 69 Frome Town (8) 3–1 Cirencester Town (8) 234 70 Yate Town (8) 0–2 Tavistock (8) 216 71 Kidlington (8) 2–0 North Leigh (8) 136 72 Westbury United (8) 2–5 Bemerton Heath Harlequins (8) 67 Match played at Melksham Town. 73 Evesham United (8) 1–1 Bashley (8) 156 74 Bishop's Cleeve (8) 6–1 Paulton Rovers (8) 72 75 Larkhall Athletic (8) 2–0 Willand Rovers (8) 115 76 Thatcham Town (8) 2–2 Bristol Manor Farm (8) 107 77 Exmouth Town (8) 3–3 Wimborne Town (8) 230 78 Cribbs (8) 3–2 Bideford (8) 117 79 Malvern Town (8) 2–4 Mousehole (8) 298 Sunday 10 September 2023 37 Enfield (8) W/O Walthamstow (8) 10 City of Liverpool (8) 3–1 1874 Northwich (8) 324 64 Ashford United (8) 7–1 Binfield (8) 90 Match played at Chatham Town.
Second round qualifying The draw for the second qualifying round was also made on 8 July 2023.
This round consisted of the 79 winners from the previous round alongside Hinckley LR who received a bye in the previous round.
Tie Home team (level) Score Away team (level) Saturday 23 September 2023 1 Avro (8) 0–0 Stalybridge Celtic (8) 164 2 City of Liverpool (8) 2–1 Witton Albion (8) 251 3 Nantwich Town (8) 2–1 Dunston (8) 307 4 Stockton Town (8) 0–2 Bootle (8) 365 5 Vauxhall Motors (8) 0–1 Stocksbridge Park Steels (8) 152 6 Brighouse Town (8) 2–2 Clitheroe (8) 190 7 North Ferriby (8) 2–2 Prescot Cables (8) 453 8 Hanley Town (8) 2–1 Sheffield (8) 176 9 Kidsgrove Athletic (8) 2–4 Sporting Khalsa (8) 233 10 Quorn (8) 4–2 Leek Town (8) 206 11 Belper Town (8) 1–2 Walsall Wood (8) 368 12 Boldmere St. Michaels (8) 2–1 Grantham Town (8) 143 13 Carlton Town (8) 2–1 Chasetown (8) 128 14 Anstey Nomads (8) 2–2 Loughborough Dynamo (8) 129 15 Hinckley Leicester Road F.C. (8) 0–0 Harborough Town (8) 138 17 Felixstowe & Walton United (8) 6–3 Hertford Town (8) 225 18 Biggleswade (8) 2–1 Hadley (8) 136 19 Bury Town F.C. (8) 1–1 Walthamstow (8) 454 20 AFC Dunstable (8) 2–3 Brightlingsea Regent (8) 113 22 Witham Town (8) 2–3 Redbridge (8) 104
Tie Home team (level) Score Away team (level) 23 Waltham Abbey (8) 1–5 Heybridge Swifts (8) 160 24 Basildon United (8) 0–4 Lowestoft Town (8) 92 25 South Park Reigate (8) 2–1 Three Bridges (8) 116 26 Cray Valley Paper Mills (8) 2–0 Hartley Wintney (8) 116 27 Ramsgate (8) 3–1 Sevenoaks Town (8) 404 28 Metropolitan Police (8) 1–1 Ashford United (8) 108 29 Badshot Lea (8) 5–3 Sutton Common Rovers (8) 91 30 Ascot United (8) 6–2 Lancing (8) 162 31 Sheppey United (8) 2–1 Sittingbourne (8) 550 32 Southall (8) 1–3 Leatherhead (8) 114 33 Westfield (8) 2–1 Marlow (8) 91 34 Chertsey Town (8) 2–4 Hythe Town (8) 410 35 Mousehole (8) 3–0 Tavistock (8) 132 36 Bishop's Cleeve (8) 3–2 Bristol Manor Farm (8) 94 37 Kidlington (8) 2–1 Exmouth Town (8) 91 38 Cribbs (8) 3–3 Bashley (8) 9639 Bemerton Heath Harlequins (8) 0–3 Frome Town (8) 109 Sunday 24 September 2023 16 Bowers & Pitsea (8) 0–0 Bedford Town (8) 105 21 Cambridge City (8) 0–2 Leighton Town (8) 173 40 Hamworthy United (8) 1–2 Larkhall Athletic (8) 72
Third round qualifying The draw for the third qualifying round was made on 25 September 2023. The 40 winners from the previous round were joined by 88 teams from the seventh level.
Tie Home team (level) Score Away team (level) Friday 6 October 2023 1 Avro (8) 4–0 Warrington Rylands (7) 200 42 Potters Bar Town (7) 4–1 Berkhamsted (7) 217 Saturday 7 October 2023 2 Bootle (8) 0–2 Bamber Bridge (7) 302 3 North Ferriby (8) 4–0 Atherton Collieries (7) 478 4 Bradford (Park Avenue) (7) 0–0 Nantwich Town (8) 256 5 Lancaster City (7) 0–0 City of Liverpool (8) 326 6 Hanley Town (8) 0–1 Macclesfield (7) 426 7 Morpeth Town (7) 1–4 FC United of Manchester (7) 418 8 Ashton United (7) 1–1 Brighouse Town (8) 178 9 Workington AFC (7) 1–3 Hyde United (7) 580 10 Radcliffe (7) 3–2 Whitby Town (7) 735 11 Gainsborough Trinity (7) 1–3 Guiseley (7) 342 12 Worksop Town (7) 2–1 Stocksbridge Park Steels (8) 383 13 Marske United (7) 2–4 Marine (7) 252 14 Quorn (8) 2–0 AFC Telford United (7) 305 15 Long Eaton United (7) 1–4 Stourbridge (7) 267 16 Stratford Town (7) 1–0 Basford United (7) 357 17 Redditch United (7) 2–1 Leamington (7) 408 18 Harborough Town (8) 2–1 Biggleswade (8) 126 19 Barwell (7) 2–2 Mickleover (7) 189 20 St Ives Town (7) 3–2 Kettering Town (7) 351 21 Bromsgrove Sporting (7) 0–2 Halesowen Town (7) 947 22 Anstey Nomads (8) 0–1 Alvechurch (7) 172 23 Royston Town (7) 1–3 Coalville Town (7) 275 24 Boldmere St Michaels (8) 0–3 Leighton Town (8) 148 25 Stafford Rangers (7) 3–2 Sporting Khalsa (8) 485 26 Hitchin Town (7) 2–3 Stamford (7) 362 27 Matlock Town (7) 1–0 Bedford Town (8) 595 28 Ilkeston Town (7) 2–3 Walsall Wood (8) 556 29 Nuneaton Borough (7) 1–0 Carlton Town (8) 239 30 Carshalton Athletic (7) 1–2 Cray Valley Paper Mills (8) 249