2025–26 FA Trophy
2025–26 football tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025–26 FA Trophy (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025–26 Isuzu FA Trophy) is the 57th edition of the FA Trophy, an annual football competition for teams at levels 5–8 of the English football league system.
CountryEngland
Wales
Wales
DatesQualifying rounds: 23 August 2025 – 4 October 2025
Competition Proper: 25 October 2025 – 17 May 2026
Competition Proper: 25 October 2025 – 17 May 2026
Teams336
ChampionsSouthend United (1st title)
| Football Association Trophy | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | England Wales |
| Dates | Qualifying rounds: 23 August 2025 – 4 October 2025 Competition Proper: 25 October 2025 – 17 May 2026 |
| Teams | 336 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Southend United (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Wealdstone |
Aldershot Town were the defending champions, having won the 2024–25 edition.
Format and eligibility
The calendar and entries were announced by The Football Association on 26 June 2025.[1]
Aldershot Town are the reigning champions for the 2024–25 season, having defeated Spennymoor Town 3–0 in the 2025 FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium.[2]
| Round | Main Date | Number of Fixtures | Clubs Remaining | New Entries This Round | Losing Club | Winning Club |
| Preliminary round | 23 August 2025 | 16 | 336 → 320 | 32 | £400 | £1,500 |
| First round qualifying | 6 September 2025 | 80 | 320 → 240 | 144 | £400 | £1,500 |
| Second round qualifying | 20 September 2025 | 40 | 240 → 200 | none | £575 | £2,250 |
| Third round qualifying | 4 October 2025 | 64 | 200 → 136 | 88 | £625 | £2,450 |
| First round proper | 25 October 2025 | 32 | 136 → 104 | none | £775 | £3,000 |
| Second round proper | 15 November 2025 | 40 | 104 → 64 | 48 | £1,000 | £3,750 |
| Third round proper | 13 December 2025 | 32 | 64 → 32 | 24 | £1,250 | £4,500 |
| Fourth round proper | 10 January 2026 | 16 | 32 → 16 | none | £1,500 | £5,250 |
| Fifth round proper | 31 January 2026 | 8 | 16 → 8 | none | £1,750 | £6,000 |
| Quarter-finals | 28 February 2026 | 4 | 8 → 4 | none | £2,000 | £7,500 |
| Semi-finals | 28 March 2026 | 2 | 4 → 2 | none | £5,000 | £15,000 |
| Final | 17 May 2026 | 1 | 2 → 1 | none | £30,000 | £60,000 |
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round was made on 4 July 2025.[3]
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First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was made on 4 July 2025.[3]
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was made on 8 September 2025.[4]
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Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was made on 22 September 2025.[5]
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Notes
- Bamber Bridge awarded a walkover due to Widnes withdrawing from the competition.
First round proper
The draw for the first round proper was made on 6 October 2025.[6]
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
24 / 24 |
48 / 48 |
47 / 47 |
17 / 17 |
136 / 136 |
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Second round proper
The draw for the second round proper was made on 27 October 2025.[7]
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
24 / 24 |
48 / 48 |
25 / 47 |
9 / 17 |
104 / 136 |
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Upsets
| Giantkiller (tier) | Opponent (tier) |
|---|---|
| Upset of two leagues above | |
| Anstey Nomads (level 8) | 1–0 away vs Bedford Town (level 6) |
| Clitheroe (level 8) | 1–0 away vs Chester (level 6) |
| Harrow Borough (level 8) | 2–2 (3–2 on penalties) away vs King's Lynn Town (level 6) |
| Leatherhead (level 8) | 2–0 home vs Hampton & Richmond Borough (level 6) |
Third round proper
The draw for the third round proper was made on 17 November 2025.[8] There were four teams from the eighth tier still in the competition, with at least one going through into the fourth round due to Leatherhead and Harrow Borough playing each other.
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
24 / 24 |
26 / 48 |
10 / 47 |
4 / 17 |
64 / 136 |
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Upsets
| Giantkiller (tier) | Opponent (tier) |
|---|---|
| Upset of two leagues above | |
| Anstey Nomads (level 8) | 2–1 away vs Hartlepool United (level 5) |
| Clitheroe (level 8) | 1–1 (4–3 on penalties) home vs York City (level 5) |
| Walton & Hersham (level 7) | 4–1 home vs Sutton United (level 5) |
Fourth round proper
The draw for the third round proper was made on 15 December 2025. Three teams from the eighth tier, Anstey Nomads, Clitheroe, and Leatherhead, remained in the competition.
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
13 / 24 |
12 / 48 |
4 / 47 |
3 / 17 |
32 / 136 |
| Tie | Home team | Score | Away team | Att. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 10 January 2026 | ||||
| 2 | Walton & Hersham (7) | 1–0 | Brackley Town (5) | 1,181 |
| 4 | Yeovil Town (5) | 0–0 (3–1 p) | Alvechurch (7) | 1,870 |
| 6 | Marine (6) | 1–1 (4–3 p) | Gloucester City (7) | 968 |
| 8 | Chatham Town (7) | 1–0 | Carlisle United (5) | 1,703 |
| 9 | Wealdstone (5) | 1–0 | Dagenham & Redbridge (6) | 891 |
| 11 | Ebbsfleet United (6) | 0–2 | Forest Green Rovers (5) | 887 |
| 12 | Hereford (6) | 2–2 (3–4 p) | AFC Fylde (6) | 1,372 |
| 15 | Leatherhead (8) | 2–3 | Horsham (6) | 1,613 |
| Tuesday 13 January 2026 | ||||
| 1 | Bath City (6) | 1–3 | Southend United (5) | 1,131 |
| 5 | Eastleigh (5) | 0–2 | Southport (6) | 749 |
| 7 | Kidderminster Harriers (6) | 6–2 | Morecambe (5) | 1,596 |
| 13 | Tamworth (5) | 1–1 (7–6 p) | Rochdale (5) | 534 |
| 14 | FC Halifax Town (5) | 4–0 | Anstey Nomads (8) | 683 |
| 16 | Scunthorpe United (5) | 3–1 | Clitheroe (8) | 1,364 |
| Tuesday 20 January 2026 | ||||
| 3 | Woking (5) | 2–1 | Macclesfield (6) | 1,144 |
| 10 | Hornchurch (6) | 1–2 | AFC Telford United (6) | 320 |
Upsets
| Giantkiller (tier) | Opponent (tier) |
|---|---|
| Upset of two leagues above | |
| Chatham Town (level 7) | 1–0 home vs Carlisle United (level 5) |
| Walton & Hersham (level 7) | 1–0 home vs Brackley Town (level 5) |
Fifth round proper
At the time of the draw, there were two teams from the seventh tier still in the competition: Chatham Town and Walton & Hersham.
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
8 / 24 |
6 / 48 |
2 / 47 |
0 / 17 |
16 / 136 |
| Tie | Home team | Score | Away team | Att. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 31 January 2026 | ||||
| 1 | Forest Green Rovers (5) | 0–3 | Wealdstone (5) | 1,607 |
| 2 | Chatham Town (7) | 0–1 | Southend United (5) | 2,135 |
| 3 | Scunthorpe United (5) | 1–2 | Horsham (6) | 1,890 |
| 4 | FC Halifax Town (5) | 1–1 (3–4 p) | Kidderminster Harriers (6) | 1,298 |
| 5 | Walton & Hersham (7) | 1–2 | Woking (5) | 654 |
| 6 | AFC Fylde (6) | 0–1 | Southport (6) | 1,602 |
| 7 | AFC Telford United (6) | 0–2 | Yeovil Town (5) | 2,162 |
| 8 | Tamworth (5) | 0–0 (1–4 p) | Marine (6) | 1,120 |
Quarter-finals
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
4 / 24 |
4 / 48 |
0 / 47 |
0 / 17 |
8 / 136 |
| Tie | Home team | Score | Away team | Att. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 28 February 2026 | ||||
| 1 | Southport (6) | 1–1 (4–2 p) | Yeovil Town (5) | 3,696 |
| 2 | Marine (6) | 1–0 | Woking (5) | 2,182 |
| 3 | Kidderminster Harriers (6) | 1–1 (5–6 p) | Wealdstone (5) | 3,195 |
| 4 | Horsham (6) | 1–2 | Southend United (5) | 2,580 |
Semi-finals
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2 / 24 |
2 / 48 |
0 / 46 |
0 / 18 |
4 / 136 |
| Southport (6) | 1–3 | Southend United (5) |
|---|---|---|
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Attendance: 5,600
| Wealdstone (5) | 1–0 | Marine (6) |
|---|---|---|
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Attendance: 4,000
Final
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2 / 24 |
0 / 48 |
0 / 46 |
0 / 18 |
2 / 136 |
