| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Guernsey Wales |
The2016–17 FA Cup qualifying rounds open the136th season of competition inEngland for The Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup), the world's oldestassociation football singleknockout competition. For the third successive year, 736 entrants were accepted into the competition.[1]
The large number of clubs entering the tournament from lower down (Levels 5 to 10) in theEnglish football pyramid mean that the competition is scheduled to start with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockouts for thesenon-League teams.[1] The 32 winning teams from the fourth qualifying round progress to theFirst round proper, whenLeague teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 enter the competition.
The calendar for the 2016–17 FA Cup qualifying rounds, as announced byThe Football Association.[2]
| Round | Main date | Leagues entering at this round | New entries this round | Winners from previous round | Number of fixtures | Prize money[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | 6 August 2016 | Levels 9-10 | 368 | none | 184 | £1,500 |
| Preliminary round | 20 August 2016 | Level 8 | 136 | 184 | 160 | £1,925 |
| First qualifying round | 3 September 2016 | Level 7 | 72 | 160 | 116 | £3,000 |
| Second qualifying round | 17 September 2016 | National League North National League South | 44 | 116 | 80 | £4,500 |
| Third qualifying round | 1 October 2016 | none | none | 80 | 40 | £7,500 |
| Fourth qualifying round | 15 October 2016 | National League | 24 | 40 | 32 | £12,500 |
| For the next rounds see2016–17 FA Cup | ||||||
Extra preliminary round fixtures were due to be played on Saturday 6 August 2016, with replays taking place no later than Thursday 11 August 2016. A total of 368 teams, fromLevel 9 and Level 10 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition. The round included 76 teams fromLevel 10 of English football, being the lowest ranked clubs to compete in the tournament.
Preliminary round fixtures were due to be played on Saturday 20 August 2016, with replays on or before Thursday 25 August 2016. 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 26 teams fromLevel 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
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First qualifying round fixtures were due to be played on Saturday 3 September 2016, with replays taking place no later than Thursday 8 September 2016. 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 twelve teams fromLevel 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
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Second qualifying round fixtures were due to be played on Saturday 17 September 2016, with replays no later than Thursday 22 September 2016. 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 included 23 teams fromLevel 9 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
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Third qualifying round fixtures were due to be played on Saturday 1 October 2016, with replays taking place no later than Thursday 6 October 2016. A total of 80 teams took part in this stage of the competition, all winners from the second qualifying round. The round included nine teams from Level 9 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round.
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Fourth qualifying round fixtures were due to be played on Saturday 15 October 2016, with replays taking place no later than Thursday 20 October 2016. 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.Bishop Auckland andWestfields of level 9 were the lowest ranked teams in this round.
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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 in theEnglish Football League, first enter the competition.