2023–24 FA Youth Cup

The 2023–24 FA Youth Cup was the 72nd edition of the competition.

The competition consisted of several rounds and was preceded by a qualifying competition, starting with two preliminary rounds which was followed by three qualifying rounds for non-League teams. The Football League teams entered the draw thereafter, with League One and League Two teams entered in the first round proper, and Premier League and Championship teams entered in the third round proper.

A record 630 clubs were accepted into the competition.^[1] The current defending Champions are West Ham United who defeated Arsenal 5–1 at the Emirates Stadium in front of 34,127 fans.^[2]

Calendar[edit]

Qualifying rounds[edit]

Extra preliminary round[edit]

192 teams competed in the Extra Preliminary Round. The draw was announced on 7 July 2023. 11 teams withdrew from this round resulting in 11 walkovers. The Teams that withdrew in this round were Barnstaple Town, Basildon Town, Cirencester Town, Concord Rangers, Guildford City, Hanwell Town, Kidlington, Lingfield, Little Oakley, VCD Athletic, and Wells City. Northampton ON Chenecks were ruled ineligible after their game against Daventry Town so Daventry Town moved on instead.^[3][4]

Preliminary round[edit]

378 teams competed in this round of the competition with the 96 winners from the previous round joining 282 new teams entering the competition in this phase. 16 teams, AFC Aldermaston, Boro Rangers, Cleethorpes Town, Coventry United, Dunkirk, East Thurrock United, Godalming Town, Harrogate Railway Athletic, Horndean, Lower Breck, Newent Town, North Greenford United, Norwich United, Seaham Red Star, Southend Manor, and Torrington, withdrew from the tournament at this phase resulting in 16 walkovers. Brentwood Town was rewarded a tie as Cheshunt was removed from the tournament. The draw was announced on 7 July 2023.^[6]

First Round Qualifying[edit]

43 clubs from the sixth tier leagues National League North and the National League South joined the 189 winners from the previous round with Farnborough, Peterborough Sports, Taunton Town, Warrington Town, and Weymouth not joining because they did not apply. This is the first time the clubs from the sixth tier did not join the other clubs in the preliminary rounds. Two clubs Braintree Town and Scunthorpe United withdrew from the completion at this stage. The Draw was made on 25 August 2023.^[7]

Second Round Qualifying[edit]

24 teams from The Fifth Tier National League joined the 116 winners from the previous round in the Second Round of the qualifying. 22 teams from the lowest tier, the Tenth Tier, remain in the competition. The Draw was made on 22 September 2023.^[8]

Third Round Qualifying[edit]

The 70 winners from the Second Round Qualifying compete in this round with the 35 winners progressing to the First Round Proper. Chester-Le-Street United, Croydon, Heather St Johns, and Ingles from the 10th tier were the lowest ranked teams left in the competition. The Draw for the round was made on 6 October 2023.^[10]

Competition Proper[edit]

First Round[edit]

45 teams from League One and League Two joined the 35 winners from the previous round. Barrow AFC, Crawley Town, and Wycombe Wanderers will not participate in this round as they did not apply to enter the competition. Chester-Le-Street United, from the tenth tier of English football, is the lowest-ranked team left in the competition. The draw was made on 20 October 2023.^[11]