| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Guernsey Wales |
The2015–16 FA Cup qualifying rounds opened the135th season of competition inEngland for The Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup), the world's oldestassociation football singleknockout competition. A total of 736 clubs were accepted for the competition, the same as the previous season.[1]
The large number of clubs entering the tournament from lower down (Levels 5 to 10) in theEnglish football pyramid meant that the competition started with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockouts for thesenon-League teams. The 32 winning teams from the fourth qualifying round progressed to theFirst round proper, whereLeague teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 entered the competition.
The calendar for the 2015–16 FA Cup qualifying rounds, as announced byThe Football Association.[1]
| Round | Main date | Leagues entering at this round | New entries this round | Winners from previous round | Number of fixtures | Prize money[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | 15 August 2015 | Levels 9-10 | 368 | none | 184 | £1,500 |
| Preliminary round | 29 August 2015 | Level 8 | 136 | 184 | 160 | £1,925 |
| First qualifying round | 12 September 2015 | Level 7 | 72 | 160 | 116 | £3,000 |
| Second qualifying round | 26 September 2015 | National League North National League South | 44 | 116 | 80 | £4,500 |
| Third qualifying round | 10 October 2015 | none | none | 80 | 40 | £7,500 |
| Fourth qualifying round | 24 October 2015 | National League | 24 | 40 | 32 | £12,500 |
| For the next rounds look2015–16 FA Cup | ||||||
Extra preliminary round fixtures were due to be played on 15 August 2015, with replays taking place no later than 20 August 2015. A total of 368 teams, fromLevel 9 and Level 10 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition. The round includes 91 teams fromLevel 10 of English football, being the lowest ranked clubs to compete in the tournament.[3]
Preliminary round fixtures were due to be played on 29 August 2015, with replays no later than 4 September. A total of 320 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 184 winners from theExtra preliminary round and 136 entering at this stage from the six leagues atLevel 8 of English football. The round included 29 teams from Level 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First qualifying round fixtures were played on 12 September 2015, with replays no later than 18 September. A total of 232 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 160 winners from thePreliminary round and 72 entering at this stage from the three leagues atLevel 7 of English football. The round included eleven teams from Level 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Second qualifying round fixtures were due to be played on 26 September 2015, with replays no later than 2 October. 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 atLevel 6 of English football. The round includedBodmin Town,Hinckley andHook Norton from Level 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Third qualifying round fixtures were due to be played on 10 October 2015, with replays taking place no later than 16 October. A total of 80 teams took part in this stage of the competition, all winners from the second qualifying round. The round included eight teams from Level 9 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
|
|
Fourth qualifying round fixtures were due to be played on 24 October 2015, with replays taking place no later than 30 October. A total of 64 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 40 winners from the third qualifying round and 24 entering at this stage from theConference Premier at Level 5 of English football. The round includedSporting Khalsa from Level 9 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked team in this round.
|
|
Winners from the fourth qualifying round advanced to theFirst round proper, where teams fromLeague One (Level 3) and League Two (Level 4) of English football, operating inThe Football League, first enter the competition. See2015–16 FA Cup for a report of first round proper onwards.
The qualifying rounds aren't covered by the FA Cup's broadcasting contracts held byBBC Sport andBT Sport, although one game was televised.
The following qualifying rounds matches were broadcast live on UK television:
| Round | Tie | Broadcaster |
| Fourth qualifying round[4] | Margate vs Forest Green Rovers | BT Sport |