Sporting Khalsa 2–0Gresley Rovers, Preliminary round replay, 20 August 2024 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Dates | 2 August – 15 October 2024 |
| Teams | 653 |
The2024–25 FA Cup qualifying rounds opened the144th edition of theFA Cup, the world's oldestassociation football singleknockout competition, organised byThe Football Association, the governing body for the sport in England. 653 teams in the 5th to 9th tier ofEnglish football competed across six rounds for 32 spots in the2024-25 FA Cup first round proper.
The qualifying rounds are the point of entry into the FA Cup for all "non-League" teams—teams below the top four tiers of English football, and therefore outside theEnglish Football League (EFL). These teams compete in leagues below the EFL which constitute theNational League System. The number of teams entered in the FA Cup overall rose from 732 in2023-24 to 745 the following season due to an increase in the number of teams in the 9th tier.[1] Because of this increase, teams from 10th tier were no longer accepted into the competition, so the 2024-25 qualifying rounds encompassed all teams that entered from the 5th to 9th tiers—steps 1 to 5 of the National League System.
| Round | Main date[2] | Leagues entering this round[3] | New entries this round | Winners from the previous round | Number of fixtures | Prize fund | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Losing club | Winning club | ||||||
| Extra preliminary round | 3 August 2024 | Level 9 Level 8 (32 newly promoted clubs and 91 lowest ranked clubs bypoints per game from 23/24) | 442 | None | 221 | £375 | £1,125 |
| Preliminary round | 17 August 2024 | Level 8 (Remaining clubs) | 52 | 221 | 136 | £481 | £1,444 |
| First qualifying round | 31 August 2024 | Level 7 | 88 | 136 | 112 | £750 | £2,250 |
| Second qualifying round | 14 September 2024 | National League North National League South | 48 | 112 | 80 | £1,125 | £3,375 |
| Third qualifying round | 28 September 2024 | None | 0 | 80 | 40 | £1,875 | £5,625 |
| Fourth qualifying round | 12 October 2024 | National League | 24 | 40 | 32 | £3,125 | £9,375 |
The draw for the extra preliminary round was made on 5 July 2024.[4]
The draw for the preliminary round was made on 5 July 2024, following the draw for the extra preliminary round.[4] This round saw the remaining teams from Tier 8 enter the competition.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The draw for the first qualifying round was made on 19 August 2024.[5] This round saw all teams from step three enter the competition.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Giantkiller(tier) | Opponent (tier) |
|---|---|
| Upset of two leagues above | |
| Barnoldswick Town (level 9) | 1–0 at home vsLancaster City (level 7) |
| Newcastle Benfield (level 9) | 2–1 at home vsPrescot Cables (level 7) |
| Harefield United (level 9) | 0–0(4–2p) away vsLewes (level 7) |
The draw for the second qualifying round was made on 2 September 2024.[6] This round saw all teams from Tier 6 enter the competition. 16 teams from Tier 9 (1874 Northwich,AFC Stoneham,Amersham Town,Barking,Barnoldswick Town,Bottesford Town,Bury,Corinthian,Crook Town,Hallam,Harefield United,Lordswood,Nailsea & Tickenham,Newcastle Benfield,Shifnal Town, andWest Didsbury & Chorlton) entered this round as the lowest ranked teams remaining in the competition.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Giantkiller(tier) | Opponent (tier) |
|---|---|
| Upset of two leagues above | |
| Bishop's Cleeve (level 8) | 3–0 at home vsTorquay United (level 6) |
| Bury (level 9) | 3–0 away vsBlyth Spartans (level 7) |
| Shifnal Town (Level 9) | 1–0 away vsRedditch United (Level 7) |
The draw for the third qualifying round was made on 16 September 2024.[7] Three clubs (Amersham Town,Bury, andShifnal Town) from Tier 9 progressed to this round.
Teams inbold advanced to the Fourth qualifying round.
| Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Tier 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isthmian League Premier Northern Premier League Premier Southern League Premier Central
Southern League Premier South | Isthmian League North Isthmian League South East Northern Premier League Division One North Northern Premier League Division One Midlands Northern Premier League Division One West Southern League Division One Central Southern League Division One South | Combined Counties League Premier North North West Counties League Premier Midland League Premier |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Giantkiller(tier) | Opponent (tier) |
|---|---|
| Upset of three leagues above | |
| Bury (level 9) | 3–2 away vsRadcliffe (level 6) |
| Upset of two leagues above | |
| Gorleston (level 8) | 4–2 at home vsSt Albans City (level 6) |
The draw for the fourth qualifying round was made on 30 September 2024.[8] One club from Tier 9,Bury, progressed to this round.
Teams inbold advanced to theFirst round proper.
| Tier 5 | Tier 6 | Tier 7 | Tier 8 | Tier 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National League | National League North | Isthmian League Premier Northern Premier League Premier Southern League Premier Central Southern League Premier South | Isthmian League North Northern Premier League Division One North Southern League Division One Central | North West Counties League Premier |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Giantkiller(tier) | Opponent (tier) |
|---|---|
| Upset of three leagues above | |
| Hednesford Town (level 8) | 3–1 away vsGateshead (level 5) |
| Upset of two leagues above | |
| Gainsborough Trinity (level 7) | 4–0 away vsBoston United (level 5) |
The qualifying rounds were not covered by the FA Cup's broadcasting contracts held byBBC Sport andITV, although one game per round was broadcast by the BBC on its media platforms.
| Round | Tie | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round[9] | Ashington vBishop Auckland | BBC Sport |
| First qualifying round[10] | Campion vBlyth Spartans | |
| Second qualifying round[11] | Lordswood vSittingbourne | |
| Third qualifying round[12] | Wythenshawe Town vFarsley Celtic | |
| Fourth qualifying round[13][14] | Hednesford Town vGateshead | |
| Gateshead v Hednesford Town | National League TV (247.tv) |