The 1997 Football League Trophy Final, known as the 1997 Auto Windscreens Shield Final for sponsorship reasons, was the final match of the 1996–97 Football League Trophy. It was the 14th season of the competition for teams from the Second and Third Divisions of the Football League. The match was held on 20 April 1997 at Wembley Stadium, London, and was contested by Carlisle United, featuring in their second final in the competition and looking for their first win, and Colchester United, who were appearing in the final for the first time.

Each club needed to progress through five rounds to reach the final, which included a two-legged area final. Carlisle's progress to the final saw them concede just one goal in their six games, scoring twelve in the process. This included a 0–0 draw in the second leg of their area final against . Colchester, however, scored ten goals and conceded five, twice requiring extra time to defeat their opponents. Their run included a 2–0 defeat against Peterborough United in their area final first-leg before overcoming them 3–0 in the home encounter after extra-time.

After a goalless 90 minutes in the final, the match went to extra time, which also finished without a goal. Carlisle won the game following a penalty shoot-out, with a score of 4–3.

Third Division side Carlisle began their Football League Trophy campaign on 10 December 1996 at home to Rochdale in the North section of the competition. They defeated their opponents 2–0, before being drawn against Hull City for the second round. They comfortably dismissed Hull 4–0 on 28 January 1997, before they were handed an area quarter-final against Second Division York City at Bootham Crescent on 4 February. Again, Carlisle progressed without conceding as they won 2–0. On 18 February, Carlisle again defeated higher league opposition as they beat Shrewsbury Town 2–1 at Gay Meadow to reach the area final. In the area final first-leg held on 18 March, Carlisle again defeated second division opposition by winning 2–0 against . A 0–0 draw in the reverse tie one week later handed the Cumbrians a 2–0 aggregate win to hand them a place in the final against Colchester United.

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