FA Trophy: Dates, teams, prize money & more

The FA Trophy is contested by clubs between the fifth and eighth tier of the EFL system and was first held back in the 1969/70 season, when Macclesfield beat Telford United 2-0 in the final.

Southend United are the reigning champions after beating Wealdstone 4-2 on penalties at Wembley.

Dates

The FA Trophy dates for 2025/26 are below and the dates for next season should be confirmed in the summer.

Round	Date
Preliminary Round	Saturday 23 August 2025
First Round Qualifying	Saturday 6 September 2025
Second Round Qualifying	Saturday 20 September 2025
Third Round Qualifying	Saturday 4 October 2025
First Round Proper	Saturday 25 October 2025
Second Round Proper	Saturday 15 November 2025
Third Round Proper	Saturday 13 December 2025
Fourth Round Proper	Saturday 10 January 2026
Fifth Round Proper	Saturday 31 January 2026
Sixth Round Proper	Saturday 28 February 2026
Semi-Final	Saturday 28 March 2026
Final	Sunday 17 May 2026

Teams

The FA Trophy is competed by clubs on steps 1-4 in the National League System.

Teams from the National League, Southern League, Isthmian League and Northern Premier League can participate in the the competition, a structure that has been in place since 2008.

Final venue

The FA Trophy final, like both the FA Cup and EFL Cup finals, is typically played at Wembley Stadium in London.

Prize Money

Round	Prize Money
Preliminary round	Winners receive £1500, losers receive £400
First round qualifying	Winners receive £1500, losers receive £400
Second round qualifying	Winners receive £2250 losers receive £575
Third round qualifying	Winners receive £2450, losers receive £625
First round	Winners receive £3000, losers receive £775
Second round	Winners receive £3750, losers receive £1000
Third round	Winners receive £4500, losers receive £1250
Fourth round	Winners receive £5250, losers receive £1500
Fifth round	Winners receive £6000, losers receive £1750
Quarter Final	Winners receive £7500, losers receive £2000
Semi-Final	Winners receive £15,000, losers receive £5000
Runners-up	£30,000
Winners	£60,000

The winners of the FA Trophy collect a winners prize of £60,000, while the runners-up receive a £30,000 fee.

Teams who are victorious in the semi-finals win £15,000, with the losers of the tie pocketing £5000.

History

Macclesfield Town won the inaugural FA Trophy in the 1969/70 season when beating Telford United 2-0 in the final, the first of two triumphs for the club, who also claimed the spoils in 1996.

Telford made up for that loss the following year when overcoming Hillingdon Borough 3-2 in the final. They went on to lift the trophy two more times, in 1983 and 1989, leaving them with the joint-highest number of FA Trophy wins on three.

Scarborough and Woking have also tasted success three times, with their last final wins coming in 1977 and 1997 respectively.

A total of 38 teams have won the FA Trophy, while Wrexham became the first Welsh winners of the FA Trophy in 2013 when beating Grimsby Town on penalties after the match ended 1-1 after extra-time.