| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
The2009–10 FA Cup qualifying rounds opened the129th season of competition inEngland for 'The Football Association Challenge Cup' (FA Cup), the world's oldestassociation football singleknockout competition. As in the previous year, 762 clubs were accepted for the competition.
The large number of clubs entering the tournament from lower down (Levels 5 through 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 round qualifying progressed to theFirst round proper, whereLeague teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 entered the competition.
The calendar for the 2009–10 FA Cup qualifying rounds, as announced byThe Football Association.
| Round | Main date | Leagues entering at this round | New entries this round | Winners from previous round | Number of fixtures | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | 15 August 2009 | Levels 9–10 | 406 | none | 203 | £750 |
| Preliminary round | 29 August 2009 | Level 8 | 131 | 203 | 167 | £1,500 |
| First round qualifying | 12 September 2009 | Level 7 | 65 | 167 | 116 | £3,000 |
| Second round qualifying | 26 September 2009 | Conference North Conference South | 44 | 116 | 80 | £4,500 |
| Third round qualifying | 10 October 2009 | none | none | 80 | 40 | £7,500 |
| Fourth round qualifying | 24 October 2009 | Conference Premier | 24 | 40 | 32 | £12,500 |
| For the next rounds look2009–10 FA Cup | ||||||
The draw for the extra preliminary round was announced on The FA's website on 1 July. Matches in this round were played on the weekend of 15 August 2009, with replays played between 17 and 19 August 2009. 406 clubs fromLevel 9 and Level 10 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition.
Preliminary round fixtures were played on the weekend of 29 August 2009. A total of 334 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, including the 203 winners from the extra preliminary round and 131 entering at this stage from the six leagues atLevel 8 of English football (all exceptLeyton from Isthmian League Division One North). The round featured 50 clubs from Level 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
|
|
The first round qualifying fixtures were played on the weekend of 12 September 2009, with replays being played the following mid-week. A total of 232 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, including the 167 winners from the preliminary round and 65 entering at this stage from the top division of the three leagues atLevel 7 of English football, whileHalesowen Town from Southern League Premier Division was barred from FA Cup because of financial difficulties.[1] The round featured 17 clubs from Level 10 still in the competition, being the lowest-ranked clubs in this round.
AsNewcastle Blue Star folded after the draw took place,Ossett Albion were given a walkover to the second round qualifying.
Bobby Traynor was voted Player of the Round for his hat-trick inKingstonian's 4–1 win againstBognor Regis Town.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The second round qualifying fixtures were played on the weekend of 26 September 2009. A total of 160 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, including the 116 winners from the first round qualifying and 44Level 6 clubs, fromConference North andConference South, entering at this stage.AFC Wulfrunians,Bardon Hill Sports,East Preston,Gillingham Town andJarrow Roofing BCA fromLevel 10 of English football, were the lowest-ranked clubs to qualify for this round of the competition.
|
|
The third round qualifying took place on the weekend of 10 October 2009. A total of 80 clubs took part, all having progressed from the second round qualifying.Aylesbury andCoventry Sphinx fromLevel 9 of English football were the lowest-ranked clubs to qualify for this round of the competition.
|
|
The fourth round qualifying took place on the weekend of 24 October 2009. A total of 64 clubs took part, 40 having progressed from the third round qualifying and 24 clubs fromConference Premier, formingLevel 5 of English football, entering at this stage.Aylesbury fromLevel 9 of English football was the lowest-ranked club to qualify for this round of the competition.
|
|
Winners from the fourth round qualifying advanced to the first round proper, where clubs fromLevel 3 and Level 4 of English football, operating inThe Football League, first enter the competition. See2009–10 FA Cup for competition details from the first round proper onwards.