The stakes are huge entering the late stages of the 2023/24 National League as teams in England’s fifth tier eye promotion to the Football League.
While there hasn’t been a title race this season to match Wrexham‘s duels with Stockport County and Notts County of recent years, with Chesterfield creating a large lead at the top of the table, the play-off race is heating up with the late stages of the campaign set to deliver more enthralling entertainment.
Here’s what you need to know about the National League play-offs set to take place at the end of the 2023/24 season.
There is less wiggle room in the National League when it comes to automatic promotion. Only the champions are guaranteed a place in League Two at the end of the season, with the teams placed from second to seventh taking part in play-offs for a second spot in the fourth tier.
Two eliminators take place in the National League play-offs as fourth hosts seventh and fifth welcome sixth. The two winners then face the second and third-placed teams with a spot in the final at Wembley Stadium on the line.
Each game is essentially a knockout tie with no second legs throughout the play-offs. Extra time and penalty shootouts will be required if winners aren’t found in normal time.
The regular 2023/24 National League season ends on Saturday 20 April 2024, with the first eliminators confirmed to take place shortly afterwards.
The fifth-placed side will host sixth on Tuesday 23 April before the second game a day later. The semi-finals are squeezed in just before the end of the month before the final at Wembley on Saturday 4 May.
|
Date |
Round |
|---|---|
|
23/04/2024 |
First play-off eliminator (5th v 6th) |
|
24/04/2024 |
Second play-off eliminator (4th v 7th) |
|
28/04/2024 |
Play-off semi-finals |
|
04/05/2024 |
Play-off final |
Entering the Football League can be a lucrative business for successful National League clubs. The fifth-tier is a notoriously difficult league to escape but the financial rewards for doing so are significant.
Play-off winners receive a basic prize payment from the EFL and a solidarity fee from the Premier League, which combined add up to just under £1m.
Chesterfield have been totally dominant throughout the 2023/24 National League season, amassing a huge lead at the top of the table as they seek to return to the Football League for the first time since 2017/18.
The Spireites look nailed on to finish first but the play-off scrap below them is nice and tight. Bromley and Barnet are both well placed in the top three, while Solihull Moors, Altrincham, Aldershot Town and Gateshead are also in the running.
|
Position |
Team |
Played |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Chesterfield |
31 |
+41 |
80 |
|
2. |
Bromley |
32 |
+18 |
58 |
|
3. |
Barnet |
31 |
+14 |
56 |
|
4. |
Solihull Moors |
31 |
+6 |
50 |
|
5. |
Altrincham |
29 |
+16 |
49 |
|
6. |
Aldershot Town |
31 |
-1 |
48 |
|
7. |
Gateshead FC |
30 |
+13 |
47 |
|
8. |
Oldham Athletic |
30 |
+6 |
46 |
|
9. |
Rochdale |
30 |
+4 |
41 |
|
10. |
Halifax Town |
31 |
-2 |
41 |