The 2001–02 FA Cup qualifying rounds opened the 121st 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 competition. A total of 596 clubs were accepted for the competition, down six from the previous season’s 602. The large number of clubs entering the tournament from lower down ( Levels 5 through 10) in the English football pyramid meant that the competition started with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockouts for these

non-League Non-League football describes 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 specifically used to d ...

teams.

Somerset Senior League The Somerset County League is a football competition based in England. The Premier Division sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. It is a feeder to the Western League Division One and has promoted a club in seven of the ...

and

South Western Football League The South Western Football League was an English association football league composed of clubs from Cornwall and west and north Devon. It consisted of a single division at the eleventh overall tier of the English football league system, the seven ...

were the only level 10 leagues represented in the Cup, three clubs from the leagues were the lowest-ranked clubs in competition. The 32 winning teams from fourth round Qualifying 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 ...

, where

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 entered the competition.

Calendar

Extra preliminary round

Matches played on weekend of Saturday 17 August 2001. 24 clubs from Level 8 and Level 9 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition, while other 303 clubs from levels 8-10 get a bye to the next rounds.

Preliminary round

Matches played on weekend of Saturday 1 September 2001. A total of 402 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, including the 12 winners from the extra preliminary round, 302 clubs from Levels 8-10, who get a bye in the extra preliminary round and 88 entering at this stage from the four divisions at Level 7 of English football. The round featured three clubs from Level 10:

Falmouth Town Falmouth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. They are currently members of the and play at Bickland Park. The club were the first Cornish team to reach the first round proper of the F ...

and St Blazey from the

and Clevedon United from the

, being the lowest ranked clubs in this round.

First qualifying round

Matches on weekend of 15 September 2001. A total of 202 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, 201 progressed from the preliminary round plus AFC Sudbury from the

Eastern Counties Football League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk ...

, who get a bye to this stage.

and St Blazey from the

at Level 10 of English football were the lowest-ranked clubs to qualify for this round of the competition.

Second qualifying round

Matches played on weekend of 29 September 2001. A total of 168 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, including the 101 winners from the first qualifying round and 67 Level 6 clubs, from Premier divisions of the Isthmian League, Northern Premier League and Southern Football League, entering at this stage. The round featured St Blazey and

from the

, being the lowest ranked clubs in this round. Also, eight clubs from Level 9 divisions were still in the competition.

Third qualifying round

Matches on weekend of 13 October 2001. A total of 84 clubs took part, all having progressed from the second qualifying round. St Blazey from the

at Level 10 of English football was the lowest-ranked club to qualify for this round of the competition.

Fourth qualifying round

Matches played on weekend of Saturday 27 October 2001. A total of 64 clubs took part, 42 having progressed from the third qualifying round and 22 clubs from

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

, forming Level 5 of English football, entering at this stage. The round featured four clubs from Level 8 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked clubs in this round.

2001–02 FA Cup

See

2001–02 FA Cup The 2001–02 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by AXA for sponsorship reasons) was the 121st season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 2–0 win against Chelsea, courtes ...

for details of the rounds from the first round proper onwards.

External links

Football Club History Database: FA Cup 2001–02

The FA Cup Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:2001-02 FA Cup qualifying rounds FA Cup qualifying rounds Qual