The FA Cup qualifying rounds are the six knockout rounds, from the extra preliminary round in August to the fourth qualifying round in October, that reduce 651 non-League clubs to the 32 who reach the first round proper. Saturday 3 October 2026 is the third qualifying round, the fifth of those six. ONTOUR lists 39 FA Cup ties that day. The FA's draw has 40, and the 40th is Weymouth v SE Dons.
What are the FA Cup qualifying rounds?
The competition rules split the FA Cup into two parts. The Qualifying Competition (Rule 43) has six rounds: extra preliminary, preliminary, and first to fourth qualifying. The Competition Proper (Rule 45) has eight: first to fifth round proper, then the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
Two terms do most of the work here. A step is a level of the National League System, the pyramid below the EFL: Step 1 is the National League, Step 2 is National League North and South, and the numbers climb as you go down. An exemption means a club skips the early rounds and enters later. The FA accepted 743 clubs for 2026-27. Rule 44 exempts 92 of them (the Premier League and EFL) from qualifying altogether, which leaves 651 to play their way through. Qualifying ties are drawn on a geographical basis (Rule 42.2).
The 2026-27 FA Cup round dates and prize money
| Round | Date | Ties | Winners receive | Losers receive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Sat 8 Aug 2026 | 219 | £1,125 | £375 |
| Preliminary round | Sat 22 Aug 2026 | 136 | £1,444 | £481 |
| First round qualifying | Sat 5 Sep 2026 | 112 | £2,250 | £750 |
| Second round qualifying | Sat 19 Sep 2026 | 80 | £3,375 | £1,125 |
| Third round qualifying | Sat 3 Oct 2026 | 40 | £5,625 | £1,875 |
| Fourth round qualifying | Sat 17 Oct 2026 | 32 | £9,375 | £3,125 |
| First round proper | Sat 7 Nov 2026 | 40 | £47,750 | £15,800 |
| Second round proper | Sat 5 Dec 2026 | 20 | £79,500 | £21,200 |
| Third round proper | Sat 9 Jan 2027 | 32 | £121,500 | £26,500 |
| Fourth round proper | Sat 13 Feb 2027 | 16 | £127,000 | none |
| Fifth round proper | Sat 6 Mar 2027 | 8 | £238,500 | none |
| Quarter-finals | Sat 3 Apr 2027 | 4 | £477,000 | none |
| Semi-finals | Sat 24 Apr 2027 | 2 | £1,060,000 | £530,000 |
| Final | Sat 22 May 2027 | 1 | £2,120,000 | £1,060,000 |
Source: The FA, Emirates FA Cup round dates 2026-27 and the FA's 2026-27 prize fund payments sheet. Tie counts are the number of winners' payments on that sheet. The dates are default Saturdays: ground shares push some ties to the Friday or Sunday, and replays fall midweek.
When do National League, League One and League Two clubs enter the FA Cup?
National League (Step 1) clubs enter at the fourth qualifying round. League One and League Two clubs enter at the first round proper, and the Premier League and Championship wait until the third round proper. The full ladder for 2026-27:
| Round | Clubs entering | New clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Step 5 clubs, plus 123 Step 4 clubs (32 newly promoted from Step 5 and the 91 lowest-ranked from 2025-26) | 438 |
| Preliminary round | The other Step 4 clubs | 53 |
| First round qualifying | Step 3 | 88 |
| Second round qualifying | Step 2: National League North and South | 48 |
| Third round qualifying | Nobody new | 0 |
| Fourth round qualifying | Step 1: National League | 24 |
| First round proper | League One and League Two | 48 |
| Third round proper | Premier League and Championship | 44 |
Source: The FA, 2026-27 list of exemptions. The Step 5 label for the remaining extra preliminary entrants comes from Wikipedia's 2026-27 qualifying rounds table, which cites the FA's accepted-clubs list.
That third qualifying row matters for this weekend. Every club playing on Saturday has already won at least one tie, and the 24 National League sides are still a fortnight away. The first round proper is where the qualifiers meet the 48 clubs of League One and League Two. Anyone chasing the League grounds will want that draw, and the rules of the chase are in the 92 Club explainer.
Are there replays in the FA Cup qualifying rounds?
Yes. Rule 86 says a drawn match up to and including the fourth qualifying round is replayed, on the ground of the club drawn second. If the replay is level after 90 minutes, Rule 87 adds 30 minutes of extra time and then penalties. From the first round proper there are no replays: a draw goes straight to extra time and penalties. The FA and the Premier League agreed that change for the 2024-25 season, and the 2026-27 rules keep it.
For this round the FA's fixture sheet sets a 3pm default kick-off and says replays must be played on or before Thursday 8 October 2026 at 7.45pm.
One tie this season shows a different sort of replay. Mulbarton Wanderers beat Woodford Town 2-1 in the second qualifying round, but the result was voided after the referee misapplied the law on encroachment at a penalty, and the FA ordered the tie replayed on Tuesday 29 September. The winner meets Gloucester City on Saturday. This row has a short shelf life: check the result before you travel.
Worked example: Crowborough Athletic's route to Saturday
Crowborough Athletic show how long the road is from the bottom. They were one of the 91 lowest-ranked Step 4 clubs, so they started in the extra preliminary round.
| Round | Date | Result | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary | Sat 8 Aug | Guernsey 0-5 Crowborough | £1,125 |
| Preliminary | Sat 22 Aug | Epsom & Ewell 0-3 Crowborough | £1,444 |
| First qualifying | Sat 5 Sep | Crowborough 1-1 AFC Whyteleafe | |
| First qualifying replay | Wed 9 Sep | AFC Whyteleafe 2-3 Crowborough | £2,250 |
| Second qualifying | Sat 19 Sep | Hampton & Richmond 3-3 Crowborough | |
| Second qualifying replay | Tue 22 Sep | Crowborough 3-1 Hampton & Richmond | £3,375 |
Sources: results from Wikipedia's 2026-27 qualifying rounds page; the second qualifying scores also match ONTOUR's fixture data. Prize money from the FA's 2026-27 prize fund.
Six matches, four wins, two replays and a Step 2 side knocked out: £8,194 from the prize fund so far. On Saturday Crowborough Athletic host Wimborne Town, a Step 3 side who needed a replay of their own against Weston-super-Mare. A win adds £5,625 and a place in the fourth qualifying round; a defeat still pays £1,875.
What's on in the FA Cup this Saturday
Almost every tie in ONTOUR's listings kicks off at 3pm BST (14:00 UTC). A sample:
- Brentwood Town v Dagenham & Redbridge, 12:30 BST, the one early kick-off. Dagenham, a Step 2 club, came through a replay, 1-1 at Waltham Abbey then 3-0 at home.
- Morecambe v Darlington, two Step 2 clubs drawn together. Morecambe beat Southport 2-0 in the last round.
- Bury v Bromsgrove Sporting. Bury won 5-1 against Workington last time out.
- Stafford Rangers v Halesowen Town. Stafford also started in the extra preliminary round and beat Hereford, a Step 2 side, 3-2 on 19 September.
- Crowborough Athletic v Wimborne Town, the worked example above.
- Mulbarton Wanderers or Woodford Town v Gloucester City, depending on Tuesday's replay.
The full list of ties and kick-offs is on the FA Cup fixtures page, with more across every competition on the fixtures pages.
Following the qualifying rounds
On ONTOUR, the FA Cup page carries this round's ties and the second qualifying round results, and live scores run on the day. If you're at one of these grounds, a stadium check-in logs it against the fixture you saw and your photos attach to that game, which is how a good groundhopping record gets built. The name is about being on tour with your club; it has nothing to do with the travel or logistics firms that share it.
Sources: The FA: round dates 2026-27, the third round qualifying draw and fixture sheet, the 2026-27 prize fund, list of exemptions and competition rules (Rules 42 to 45, 86, 87). ESPN (19 April 2024) on replays. Wikipedia's 2026-27 qualifying rounds page for earlier results and the Mulbarton replay. ONTOUR fixture data for Saturday.
Written with AI assistance and edited by a human before publication.
