The 2023 National League play-off final, known as the Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was an association football match played on 13 May 2023 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Chesterfield and Notts County. The match determined the second and final team to gain promotion from the National League, the fifth tier of English football, to EFL League Two. The champions of the 2022–23 National League season gained automatic promotion to EFL League Two, while the teams placed from second to seventh took part in the play-offs; Notts County finished in second place while Chesterfield ended the season in third position. Boreham Wood and Bromley were the losing semi-finalists, while Barnet and Woking had lost at the play-off eliminator stage.
The match, which was refereed by Matthew Corlett, was played in front of a crowd of 38,138. It ended 1–1 after normal time and was 2–2 by the end of extra time. A penalty shootout was therefore required to determine the winner. Archie Mair, the Notts County goalkeeper who was brought on as a substitute shortly before the end of extra time, saved attempts from Chesterfield's Darren Oldaker and Jeff King. Although John Bostock missed the chance to win the shootout for Notts County, Cedwyn Scott scored with their following kick, and Notts County won the final 4–3 on penalties.
Notts County, a founder member of the English Football League, returned to that league for the first time since 2019 and will participate in the 2023–24 EFL League Two season. Chesterfield will play in the 2023–24 National League season.
Route to the final
Notts County (the Magpies) finished the season in second place in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Chesterfield (the Spireites). Both therefore missed out on the only automatic place for promotion to EFL League Two and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the second promoted team. Notts County became the first club to earn 100 points or more and fail to earn automatic promotion in any English domestic league where automatic promotion is in effect, as they finished the season four points behind the league champions Wrexham, while Chesterfield finished a further 23 points behind Notts County.
Under the National League's play-off format, Notts County and Chesterfield both qualified directly for the semi-final stage as the second and third-place teams. Notts County played sixth-place Boreham Wood at Meadow Lane, Nottingham, after the latter had defeated Barnet 2–1 in the quarter finals. Boreham Wood took the lead in the 37th minute, with Femi Ilesanmi scoring from close range. Lee Ndlouv made it 2–0 shortly before half time, when he caught Notts in possession and found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Sam Slocombe. Aden Baldwin pulled a goal back early in the second half, but Notts then missed a chance to draw level when Rúben Rodrigues had his penalty saved by Boreham Wood's goalkeeper Joe McDonnell. In the sixth minute of injury time, Baldwin headed a second goal, and normal time finished 2–2. The scores remained level until the 120th minute, when Jodi Jones’ attempt from the edge of the penalty area found its way past McDonnell, and Notts County won 3–2. Reflecting on his winning goal, Jones said: “I was just so excited I didn't know what to do. I saw all the bench coming towards me, the gaffer trying to chase me but he couldn't keep up.”
In the other semi-final, Chesterfield played Bromley at the Technique Stadium, Chesterfield, following Bromley's 2–1 quarter final win over Woking. The first half was held up following a medical emergency in the crowd, and Bromley took a 1–0 lead in the eighth of eleven subsequent minutes of stoppage time. The Spireites equalised in the 57th minute, when Bromley's Deji Elerewe turned the ball into his own net. Elerewe was sent off in the 75th minute, and Darren Oldaker put Chesterfield 2–1 through a deflected free kick shortly afterwards. The second half saw another lengthy stoppage, this time as a result of a drone flying above the stadium, and the subsequent nine minutes of injury time was enough for Michael Cheek to make it 2–2. Thirteen minutes in extra time, with ten-man Bromley visibly tiring, Liam Mandeville drove home a winning goal, and the Spireites won 3–2.