| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
The2017–18 FA Cup qualifying rounds open the137th season of competition inEngland for The Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup), the world's oldestassociation football singleknockout competition. A total of 737 teams were accepted for the competition, an increase of 1 from the previous season's 736.[1]
The large number (645) ofnon-League clubs entering the tournament, from (Levels 5 to 10) in theEnglish football pyramid, required the competition to start with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockout matches. 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 2017–18 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 | 5 August 2017 | Levels 9–10 | 370 | none | 185 | £1,500 |
| Preliminary round | 19 August 2017 | Level 8 | 135 | 185 | 160 | £1,925 |
| First qualifying round | 2 September 2017 | Level 7 | 72 | 160 | 116 | £3,000 |
| Second qualifying round | 16 September 2017 | National League North National League South | 44 | 116 | 80 | £4,500 |
| Third qualifying round | 30 September 2017 | none | none | 80 | 40 | £7,500 |
| Fourth qualifying round | 14 October 2017 | National League | 24 | 40 | 32 | £12,500 |
| For the next rounds look2017–18 FA Cup | ||||||
The Extra Preliminary round draw was held on 7 July 2017. Fixtures were played on Friday 4, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 August 2017; replays were completed on Wednesday 16 August 2017. 370 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, the lowest ranked clubs to compete in the tournament.
The Preliminary round draw was also held on 7 July 2017. Fixtures were played on Friday 18, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August 2017; replays were concluded Monday 28 August 2017. 320 teams took part in this stage of the competition: 185 winners from the extra preliminary round and 135 entering at this stage from the six leagues atLevel 8 of English football;Guernsey decided not to participate in the FA Cup this season.[4] The round included 28 teams fromLevel 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.
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The First qualifying round draw was held on 21 August 2017. Fixtures were played on Friday 1, Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 September 2017. All replays were completed by Wednesday 6 September 2017. 232 teams took part in this stage of the competition: 160 winners from the preliminary round and 72 entering at this stage from the three leagues atLevel 7 of English football. The round included nine teams fromLevel 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.
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The Second qualifying round draw was held on 4 September 2017. Fixtures were played on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September 2017; replays concluded Tuesday 26 September 2017. 160 teams took part in this stage of the competition: 116 winners from the first qualifying round and 44 entering at this stage from the two leagues atLevel 6 of English football. The round includedBaldock Town,Bodmin Town andTavistock fromLevel 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.
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The Third qualifying round draw took place on 18 September 2017. Fixtures were played on Saturday 30 September 2017; all replays were completed by Tuesday 3 October 2017. 80 winning teams from the second qualifying round took part in this stage of the competition. No additional teams entered at this stage. The round included seven teams fromLevel 9 of the football pyramid, which were the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition.
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The Fourth qualifying round draw took place on 2 October 2017. Fixtures were played on Saturday 14 October 2017 and Sunday 15 October 2017; all replays were completed by Tuesday 17 October 2017. 64 teams took part in this stage of the competition: 40 winners from the third qualifying round and the 24 members of theNational League who entered at this stage, representingLevel 5 of English football. The round includedShildon fromLevel 9 of the football pyramid, the lowest-ranked team still in the competition.
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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, entered the competition.
The qualifying rounds aren't covered by the FA Cup's broadcasting contracts held byBBC Sport andBT Sport, although one game per round will be broadcast by the BBC on its media platforms.[5]
The following qualifying rounds matches were broadcast live in the UK:
| Round | Tie | Broadcaster |
| Extra preliminary round[6] | Litherland REMYCA (10) vsA.F.C. Liverpool (9) | BBC Sport |
| Preliminary round[7] | South Shields (8) vsBridlington Town (9) | |
| First qualifying round[8] | Billericay Town (7) vsDidcot Town (8) | |
| Second qualifying round[9] | Deeping Rangers (9) vsKidderminster Harriers (6) | |
| Third qualifying round[10] | Ashton Athletic (9) vsChorley (6) | |
| Fourth qualifying round[11] | St Albans City (6) vsBoreham Wood (5) |