The 2018–19 FA Cup qualifying rounds open the 138th season of competition in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

for The Football Association Challenge Cup (

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

), the world's oldest

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

single

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

competition. A total of 736 teams were accepted for the competition, one fewer than the previous year's 737. The large number (644) of

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

teams entering the tournament, from ( Levels 5 to 10) in the

English football pyramid The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

, required the competition to start with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockout matches. The 32 winning teams from the Fourth qualifying round progressed to the

First Round Proper First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, where League teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 entered the competition.

Calendar

The calendar for the 2018–19 FA Cup qualifying rounds, as announced by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...

Extra preliminary round

The Extra preliminary round fixtures were played on Friday 10, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 August 2018; replays were to take place no later than Thursday 16 August 2018. The draw was held on Friday 6 July 2018. A total of 368 teams, from Level 8, Level 9 and Level 10 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition. The round included 80 teams from Level 10 of English football, the lowest ranked clubs to compete in the tournament.

Preliminary round

The Preliminary round fixtures were played on Friday 24, Saturday 25, Sunday 26 and Monday 27 August 2018; replays were to take place no later than Thursday 6 September 2018. The draw was held on 6 July 2018. A total of 320 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, including the 184 winners from the Extra preliminary round and 136 new clubs: 120 remaining clubs from Level 8 (all except Bracknell Town and Guernsey) and 16 clubs (those, who were promoted from level 8) from Level 7 of English football. The round included 32 teams from Level 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.

First qualifying round

The First qualifying round fixtures were to be played on Friday 7, Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September 2018; replays no later than Thursday 13 September 2018. The draw was held on 28 August 2018. A total of 232 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 160 winners from the

Preliminary round A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

and 72 entering at this stage from the four divisions at Level 7 (all except those who were promoted from level 8) of English football. The round included eight teams from Level 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.

Second qualifying round

The Second qualifying round fixtures were played on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September 2018; the last replay played on Thursday 7 October 2018. The draw was held on 10 September 2018. A total of 160 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 116 winners from the First qualifying round and 44 entering at this stage from two divisions at Level 6 of English football. The round included Anstey Nomads, Atherstone Town and Burnham from Level 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.

Third qualifying round

The Third qualifying round fixtures were to be played on Saturday 6 October 2018 with all replays completed by Thursday 11 October 2018. The draw took place on 24 September 2018. The 80 winning teams from the Second qualifying round took part in this stage of the competition and no additional teams entered at this stage. The round included Dunston UTS, from Level 9 of the football pyramid as the lowest-ranked team still in the competition.

Fourth qualifying round

The Fourth qualifying round fixtures were played on Saturday 20 October 2018 with all replays completed by Thursday 25 October 2018. The draw took place on 8 October 2018. A total of 64 teams took part in this stage of the competition: the 40 winners from the Third qualifying round and the 24 members of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

who entered at this stage, representing Level 5 of English football. The round included Dunston UTS from Level 9 of the football pyramid, the lowest-ranked team still in the competition.

Competition proper

32 winners from the Fourth qualifying round advance to the

, where 48 teams from League One (Level 3) and League Two (Level 4) of English football, operating in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

, enter the competition.

Broadcasting rights

The qualifying rounds aren't covered by the FA Cup's broadcasting contracts held by

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside ...

and

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broad ...

, although one game per round will be broadcast by the BBC on its media platforms. The following qualifying rounds matches were broadcast live in the UK:

References

External links

The FA Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 FA Cup qualifying rounds

qualifying rounds Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional expe ...

FA Cup qualifying rounds