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.[1] 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.[1]
The calendar was announced by The Football Association on 1 July 2023.[2] The competition consists of three qualifying rounds and eight proper rounds.[3] Teams enter at different stages depending on their position in the English pyramid.[3] Teams at level 8 enter into the first qualifying round and must win 11 matches to become champions.[3] Level 7 teams enter into the third qualifying round and must win 9 matches to become champions.[4] Level 6 teams enter into the second round proper and must win 7 matches to become champions.[3] Level 5 teams enter into the third round proper and must win 6 matches to become champions.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5] All other previous editions played to the same format of replays and two-legged semi-finals.
The draw for the first qualifying round was made on 8 July 2023.[8]
The first round of qualifying took place on the weekend of 8–10 September[4] and involved 158 teams in 79 matches.[9][10]
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.[3]
The draw for the third qualifying round was made on 25 September 2023.[15] The 40 winners from the previous round were joined by 88 teams from the seventh level.
The draw for the third round was made on 20 November 2023 and saw the 24 clubs from the National League join the 40 winners from the previous round.[21][22]
