List of FA Trophy finals

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,[1] and was initially open to all semi-professional teams, complementing the existing FA Amateur Cup.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Darlington players celebrate their team's victory in the final in 2011

The record for the most wins is jointly held by Scarborough, Telford United, and Woking, with three each.[1] Scarborough and Telford United are both defunct and therefore not able to add any further wins.[5][6] Scarborough, Woking, Grays Athletic and Kingstonian have each won the Trophy in two consecutive seasons.[1] Manager Mark Stimson has the unique distinction of having managed the winning team in three consecutive finals.[7] The Trophy is currently held by FC Halifax Town, who beat Gateshead in the 2023 final, held on 21 May 2023.

History

York City players celebrate winning the Trophy in 2012

The first FA Trophy final was won by Macclesfield Town, who also won the championship of the Northern Premier League in the same season.[8] 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.[9] Scarborough reached the final four times in five seasons and won the Trophy three times between 1973 and 1977.[5] In 1979, the leading Southern and Northern Premier League teams formed the new Alliance Premier League,[10] and teams from this league dominated the Trophy during the 1980s.[11] 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.[12] Telford United's win in 1989 made them the second team to win the Trophy three times.[11]

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.[11] Manager Geoff Chapple led Woking and Kingstonian to all their victories, a total of five wins in seven seasons.[13][14] 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.[7] In 2019 AFC Fylde became the first team to have won both the FA Trophy and FA Vase.[15] 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.[16]

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;[11] more recently the final has always been decided on the day, with a penalty shootout as required.[17] 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.[18]

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

SeasonWinner[1]Score[1]Runners–up[1]Venue[11]
1969–70Macclesfield Town2–0Telford UnitedWembley Stadium (original)
1970–71Telford United3–2Hillingdon BoroughWembley Stadium (original)
1971–72Stafford Rangers3–0BarnetWembley Stadium (original)
1972–73Scarborough †2–1 *Wigan AthleticWembley Stadium (original)
1973–74Morecambe2–1DartfordWembley Stadium (original)
1974–75Matlock Town4–0ScarboroughWembley Stadium (original)
1975–76Scarborough †3–2 *Stafford RangersWembley Stadium (original)
1976–77Scarborough2–1DagenhamWembley Stadium (original)
1977–78Altrincham3–1LeatherheadWembley Stadium (original)
1978–79Stafford Rangers2–0Kettering TownWembley Stadium (original)
1979–80Dagenham %2–1MossleyWembley Stadium (original)
1980–81Bishop's Stortford %1–0Sutton UnitedWembley Stadium (original)
1981–82Enfield †1–0 *AltrinchamWembley Stadium (original)
1982–83Telford United2–1Northwich VictoriaWembley Stadium (original)
1983–84Northwich Victoria †1–1 *Bangor CityWembley Stadium (original)
1983–84 (R)Northwich Victoria2–1Bangor CityVictoria Ground
1984–85Wealdstone2–1Boston UnitedWembley Stadium (original)
1985–86Altrincham1–0RuncornWembley Stadium (original)
1986–87Kidderminster Harriers †0–0 *Burton AlbionWembley Stadium (original)
1986–87 (R)Kidderminster Harriers2–1Burton AlbionThe Hawthorns
1987–88Enfield †0–0 *Telford UnitedWembley Stadium (original)
1987–88 (R)Enfield3–2Telford UnitedThe Hawthorns
1988–89Telford United †1–0 *Macclesfield TownWembley Stadium (original)
1989–90Barrow3–0Leek TownWembley Stadium (original)
1990–91Wycombe Wanderers2–1Kidderminster HarriersWembley Stadium (original)
1991–92Colchester United3–1Witton AlbionWembley Stadium (original)
1992–93Wycombe Wanderers4–1RuncornWembley Stadium (original)
1993–94Woking2–1RuncornWembley Stadium (original)
1994–95Woking †2–1 *Kidderminster HarriersWembley Stadium (original)
1995–96Macclesfield Town3–1Northwich VictoriaWembley Stadium (original)
1996–97Woking †1–0 *Dagenham & RedbridgeWembley Stadium (original)
1997–98Cheltenham Town1–0SouthportWembley Stadium (original)
1998–99Kingstonian1–0Forest Green RoversWembley Stadium (original)
1999–2000Kingstonian3–2Kettering TownWembley Stadium (original)
2000–01Canvey Island %1–0Forest Green RoversVilla Park
2001–02Yeovil Town2–0Stevenage BoroughVilla Park
2002–03Burscough %2–1TamworthVilla Park
2003–04Hednesford Town %3–2Canvey IslandVilla Park
2004–05Grays Athletic % †1–1 †Hucknall TownVilla Park
2005–06Grays Athletic2–0WokingBoleyn Ground
2006–07Stevenage Borough3–2Kidderminster HarriersWembley Stadium (new)
2007–08Ebbsfleet United1–0Torquay UnitedWembley Stadium (new)
2008–09Stevenage Borough2–0York CityWembley Stadium (new)
2009–10Barrow †2–1 *Stevenage BoroughWembley Stadium (new)
2010–11Darlington †1–0 *Mansfield TownWembley Stadium (new)
2011–12York City2–0Newport CountyWembley Stadium (new)
2012–13Wrexham †1–1 †Grimsby TownWembley Stadium (new)
2013–14Cambridge United4–0Gosport BoroughWembley Stadium (new)
2014–15North Ferriby United % †3–3 †WrexhamWembley Stadium (new)
2015–16FC Halifax Town1–0Grimsby TownWembley Stadium (new)
2016–17York City3–2Macclesfield TownWembley Stadium (new)
2017–18Brackley Town % †1–1 †BromleyWembley Stadium (new)
2018–19AFC Fylde1–0Leyton OrientWembley Stadium (new)
2019–20Harrogate Town1–0Concord RangersWembley Stadium (new)
2020–21Hornchurch ^3–1HerefordWembley Stadium (new)
2021–22Bromley1–0WrexhamWembley Stadium (new)
2022–23FC Halifax Town1–0GatesheadWembley Stadium (new)

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.[19]

ClubWinsLast final wonRunners-upLast final lost
Telford United3198921988
Woking3199712006
Scarborough3197711975
Stevenage Borough2200922010
Macclesfield Town2199622017
York City2201712009
Altrincham2198611982
Stafford Rangers2197911976
Barrow220100
Grays Athletic220060
Kingstonian220000
Wycombe Wanderers219930
Enfield219880
FC Halifax Town220230
Kidderminster Harriers1198732007
Wrexham1201322022
Northwich Victoria1198421996
Bromley1202212018
Canvey Island1200112004
Dagenham1198011977
Hornchurch120210
Harrogate Town120200
AFC Fylde120190
Brackley Town120180
North Ferriby United120150
Cambridge United120140
Darlington120110
Ebbsfleet United120080
Hednesford Town120040
Burscough120030
Yeovil Town120020
Cheltenham Town119980
Colchester United119920
Wealdstone119850
Bishop's Stortford119810
Matlock Town119750
Morecambe119740
Runcorn031994
Grimsby Town022016
Forest Green Rovers022001
Kettering Town022000
Gateshead012023
Hereford012021
Concord Rangers012020
Leyton Orient012019
Gosport Borough012014
Newport County012012
Mansfield Town012011
Torquay United012008
Hucknall Town012005
Tamworth012003
Southport011998
Dagenham & Redbridge011997
Witton Albion011992
Leek Town011990
Burton Albion011987
Boston United011985
Bangor City011984
Sutton United011981
Mossley011980
Leatherhead011978
Dartford011974
Wigan Athletic011973
Barnet011972
Hillingdon Borough011971

References

External links

  • FA Trophy section of the official Football Association website