A straight knockout competition for English football clubs in the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system.
[1] In all, 60 clubs entered the competition, including twelve from the Conference National.
The competition began on 13 October 2003 and concluded on 21 March 2004.
[2] The winners were Blackpool, who defeated Southend United 2–0 to win the title for a second time.
Bury and Huddersfield Town in the Northern section, and Northampton Town and Swansea City in the Southern section.