The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, organised by and named after The Football Association (the FA). It was staged for the first time in the 1969–70 season, and was initially open to all semi-professional teams, complementing the existing FA Amateur Cup. After the abolition of official amateur status by the FA in 1974, the leading teams from the Amateur Cup entered the Trophy, while lower-level teams competed in the new FA Vase. As of 2008, the Trophy is open to all clubs in the top four levels of the National League System, equivalent to levels five to eight of the overall English football league system, although a club's home stadium must meet certain requirements before the club can enter the tournament.

The record for the most wins is jointly held by Scarborough, Telford United, and Woking, with three each. Scarborough and Telford United are both defunct and therefore not able to add any further wins. Scarborough, Woking, Grays Athletic and Kingstonian have each won the Trophy in two consecutive seasons. Mark Stimson managed the winning team in three consecutive finals. The Trophy is currently held by Southend United, who beat Wealdstone in the 2026 final.

History

The first FA Trophy final was won by Macclesfield Town, who also won the championship of the Northern Premier League in the same season. Northern Premier League clubs dominated the first decade of the competition, with Telford United the only Southern League team to break the northern clubs' hold on the competition. Scarborough reached the final four times in five seasons and won the Trophy three times between 1973 and 1977. In 1979, the leading Southern and Northern Premier League teams formed the new Alliance Premier League, and teams from this league dominated the Trophy during the 1980s. In the 1980–81 season, however, Bishop's Stortford of the comparatively lowly Isthmian League First Division won through nine rounds to reach the final, where they beat Sutton United. Telford United's win in 1989 made them the second team to win the Trophy three times.

Between 1990 and 2000, a smaller number of clubs claimed the Trophy, as Wycombe Wanderers and Kingstonian each won the competition twice, and Woking became the third team to win it three times. Manager Geoff Chapple led Woking and Kingstonian to all their victories, a total of five wins in seven seasons. After Chapple's period of success, Mark Stimson became the first man to manage the Trophy-winning team in three successive seasons, when he led Grays Athletic to victory in 2005 and 2006 and repeated the feat with his new club Stevenage Borough in 2007. In 2019 AFC Fylde became the first team to have won both the FA Trophy and FA Vase. The 2020 final was delayed until May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and won by Harrogate Town, who in the intervening period had been promoted to the English Football League, making them the only EFL team to lift the trophy. Less than three weeks later, Hornchurch became the first club playing at tier seven of the English football league system to win the trophy. They defeated Hereford 3–1 in the 2021 final.

Finals Originally, if the final finished with the scores level after extra time, the teams would play again in a replay at a later date; more recently the final has always been decided on the day, with a penalty shootout as required. The winning club receives the FA Trophy itself and, as of 2021, prize money of £60,000, in addition to that accumulated for winning earlier rounds.

Key (R)Replay*Match went to extra time†Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time%Club played in tier 6 at the time^Club played in tier 7 at the time

Results SeasonWinnerScoreRunners–upVenueAttendance1969–70Macclesfield Town2–0Telford UnitedWembley Stadium (original)28,0001970–71Telford United3–2Hillingdon Borough29,5001971–72Stafford Rangers3–0Barnet24,0001972–73Scarborough †2–1 *Wigan Athletic23,0001973–74Morecambe2–1Dartford19,0001974–75Matlock Town4–0Scarborough21,0001975–76Scarborough †3–2 *Stafford Rangers21,0001976–77Scarborough2–1Dagenham21,5001977–78Altrincham3–1Leatherhead20,0001978–79Stafford Rangers2–0Kettering Town32,0001979–80Dagenham %2–1Mossley26,0001980–81Bishop's Stortford %1–0Sutton United22,5781981–82Enfield †1–0 *Altrincham18,6781982–83Telford United2–1Northwich Victoria22,071Northwich Victoria †1–1 *Bangor City14,200Northwich Victoria2–1Bangor CityVictoria Ground5,8051984–85Wealdstone2–1Boston UnitedWembley Stadium (original)20,7751985–86Altrincham1–0Runcorn15,700Kidderminster Harriers †0–0 *Burton Albion23,617Kidderminster Harriers2–1Burton AlbionThe Hawthorns15,685Enfield †0–0 *Telford UnitedWembley Stadium (original)21,328Enfield3–2Telford UnitedThe Hawthorns7,0051988–89Telford United †1–0 *Macclesfield TownWembley Stadium (original)19,5761989–90Barrow3–0Leek Town %21,4921990–91Wycombe Wanderers2–1Kidderminster Harriers34,8421991–92Colchester United3–1Witton Albion32,2541992–93Wycombe Wanderers4–1Runcorn32,9681993–94Woking2–1Runcorn15,8181994–95Woking †2–1 *Kidderminster Harriers17,8151995–96Macclesfield Town3–1Northwich Victoria8,6721996–97Woking †1–0 *Dagenham & Redbridge24,3761997–98Cheltenham Town1–0Southport26,8371998–99Kingstonian1–0Forest Green Rovers20,0371999–2000Kingstonian3–2Kettering Town20,0342000–01Canvey Island %1–0Forest Green RoversVilla Park10,0072001–02Yeovil Town2–0Stevenage Borough18,8092002–03Burscough %2–1Tamworth14,6252003–04Hednesford Town %3–2Canvey Island6,6352004–05Grays Athletic % †1–1 †Hucknall Town %8,1162005–06Grays Athletic2–0WokingBoleyn Ground13,9972006–07Stevenage Borough3–2Kidderminster HarriersWembley Stadium (new)53,2622007–08Ebbsfleet United1–0Torquay United40,1862008–09Stevenage Borough2–0York City27,1102009–10Barrow †2–1 *Stevenage Borough21,2232010–11Darlington †1–0 *Mansfield Town24,6682011–12York City2–0Newport County19,8442012–13Wrexham †1–1 †Grimsby Town35,2662013–14Cambridge United4–0Gosport Borough %18,1202014–15North Ferriby United % †3–3 †Wrexham14,5852015–16FC Halifax Town1–0Grimsby Town46,7812016–17York City3–2Macclesfield Town38,2242017–18Brackley Town % †1–1 †Bromley31,4302018–19AFC Fylde1–0Leyton Orient42,9622019–20Harrogate Town1–0Concord Rangers %N/A (BCD)2020–21Hornchurch ^3–1Hereford6,0002021–22Bromley1–0Wrexham46,1112022–23FC Halifax Town1–0Gateshead27,3742023–24Gateshead †2–2 †Solihull Moors19,9642024–25Aldershot Town3–0Spennymoor Town %38,6002025–26Southend United †0–0 †Wealdstone43,306

Results by team Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. Teams shown in bold compete in the Premier League or the English Football League as of 2024 and therefore do not enter the FA Trophy. Additionally, Bangor City switched to the Welsh football league system in 1992, making the club ineligible to compete in the competition from then onwards. ClubWinsLast final wonRunners-upLast final lostTelford United3198921988Woking3199712006Scarborough3197711975Stevenage Borough22009 22010Macclesfield Town21996 22017York City22017 12009Altrincham21986 11982Stafford Rangers21979 11976Barrow22010 0–Grays Athletic220060–Kingstonian22000 0–Wycombe Wanderers21993 0–Enfield21988 0–FC Halifax Town220230–Kidderminster Harriers11987 32007Wrexham1201322022Northwich Victoria11984 21996Wealdstone11985 12026Gateshead1202412023Bromley12022 12018Canvey Island12001 12004Dagenham11980 11977Southend United120260–Aldershot Town120250–Hornchurch120210–Harrogate Town120200–AFC Fylde120190–Brackley Town120180–North Ferriby United120150–Cambridge United120140–Darlington120110–Ebbsfleet United12008 0–Hednesford Town12004 0–Burscough12003 0–Yeovil Town12002 0–Cheltenham Town11998 0–Colchester United11992 0–Bishop's Stortford11981 0–Matlock Town11975 0–Morecambe119740–Runcorn0– 31994Grimsby Town0– 22016Forest Green Rovers0– 22001Kettering Town0– 22000Spennymoor Town 0–12025Soilhull Moors0–12024Hereford0–12021Concord Rangers0–12020Leyton Orient0– 12019Gosport Borough0– 12014Newport County0– 12012Mansfield Town0– 12011Torquay United0–12008Hucknall Town0–12005Tamworth0– 12003Southport0– 11998Dagenham & Redbridge0– 11997Witton Albion0– 11992Leek Town0– 11990Burton Albion0– 11987Boston United0– 11985Bangor City0– 11984Sutton United0– 11981Mossley0– 11980Leatherhead0– 11978Dartford0– 11974Wigan Athletic0– 11973Barnet0– 11972Hillingdon Borough0– 11971

References

External links FA Trophy section of the official Football Association website