The 2019–20 FA Cup qualifying rounds opened the 139th 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 b ...

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 competi ...

), 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 ...

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. The FA made 736 places available in the FA Cup for the 2019–20 season, the same number as had been accepted the previous year. The 92 teams from the EFL and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

received direct entry to the competition proper. The remaining 644 teams, from the

National League System The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a h ...

(levels 5–10 of the

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), entered into the qualifying competition consisting of six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockout matches. With more eligible entrants than places available, teams from level 10 of the English football league system were accepted up to the point at which the 736 places were full, based on their points per game from the 2018–19 season, with 1.84 points per game being the cut off. 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 1 (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, D ...

Calendar

The calendar for the 2019–20 Emirates FA Cup qualifying rounds, as announced by

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

Extra preliminary round

Extra preliminary round fixtures were played on 9–13 August 2019. The draw was held on Friday 12 July 2019. A total of 368 teams, from Level 8, Level 9 and Level 10 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition. This round contained 71 teams from Level 10.

Preliminary round

Preliminary round fixtures were played on 23–25 August 2019. The draw was held on Friday 12 July 2019. A total of 136 teams, from Level 7 and Level 8 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition. These teams joined 184 winners from the Extra preliminary round. This round contained 25 teams from Level 10; the lowest-ranked teams in the competition.

First qualifying round

First qualifying round fixtures were played the weekend of 6–8 September 2019. The draw was held on 27 August 2019. 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 leagues at Level 7 of English football. The round included seven teams from Level 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.

Second qualifying round

Second qualifying round ties took place over the weekend of 21–22 September. The draw was held on 9 September 2019. 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 the two leagues at Level 6 of English football. Two teams from Level 10 were included in the draw after earning replays, but both sides lost those replays. This left 14 sides from Level 9 initially as the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition. However, Grays Athletic was removed from the competition on 20 September 2019 for fielding an ineligible player in an earlier round. Their opponent in the most recent round, March Town from Level 10, advanced instead, making them the lowest ranked team remaining in the competition.

Third qualifying round

Third qualifying round ties took place over the weekend of 5–6 October. The draw was held on 23 September 2019. A total of 80 teams took part in this stage of the competition - the winners from the previous round only with no new teams added to the competition this round. Three teams from Level 9 - Abbey Rangers, Hadley, and

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- advanced to the Third qualifying round and were the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition.

Fourth qualifying round

The 40 winners from the Third qualifying round were joined by the 24 clubs at level 5 for 32 ties. The draw was made on 7 October 2019. The round contained five teams from Level 8 -

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

, Belper Town,

Whyteleafe Whyteleafe is a village in the district of Tandridge, Surrey, England, with a few streets falling inside the London Borough of Croydon. The village, in a dry valley of the North Downs, has three railway stations (on two parallel lines). Neighbouri ...

, Chichester City and Maldon & Tiptree, the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition.

Competition proper

32 winners from the Fourth qualifying round advance to the

, where 47 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. The first round will include Maldon & Tiptree F.C. from level 8, while Chichester City F.C., also from level 8, received the first round bye due to the expulsion of Bury F.C. from the FA Cup, and will progress directly to the Second round.

Broadcasting rights

The qualifying rounds are not 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 flag ...

and

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...

, although one game per round will be broadcast by the BBC on its media platforms.

References

External links

The FA Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 FA Cup qualifying rounds qualifying rounds FA Cup qualifying rounds