2021–22 FA Cup qualifying rounds


The 2021–22 FA Cup qualifying rounds opened the 141st edition of the FA Cup, the world's oldest association football single knockout competition, organised by The Football Association, the governing body for the sport in England. The 32 winning teams from the fourth qualifying round progressed to the First round proper; which was played in November.
637 teams were accepted into the qualification, a slight decline on the 644 which had been the fixed number since 2014–15 FA Cup qualifying rounds. This reflected the restructuring of the National League System, and a new policy of capping FA Cup places to match the number of clubs at levels 5-10. There were 8 places available for level 10 clubs, which were allocated by a random draw among the strongest teams from each of the 17 level 10 leagues

Extra preliminary round

The draw for the extra preliminary round was made on 9 July 2021. This round included nine teams from tier 10, the lowest tier in the competition.

Preliminary round

The draw for the preliminary round was made on 9 July 2021. This round included Campion and Kensington & Ealing Borough from tier 10, the two lowest ranked teams remaining in the competition.

First qualifying round

The draw for the first qualifying round was made on 23 August 2021, and saw 87 clubs from Level 7 joining the 155 winners from the preliminary round. This round included 63 teams from tier 9, the lowest ranked teams remaining in the competition.

Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was made on 6 September 2021, and saw 43 clubs from Level 6 joining the 121 winners from the first qualifying round. This round included 19 teams from tier 9, the lowest ranked teams remaining in the competition.

Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying round was made on 20 September 2021, and consists of the 82 winners from the second qualifying round. Ties will be played over the weekend of 2 October 2021. This round includes 6 teams from tier 9, the lowest ranked teams remaining in the competition.

Fourth qualifying round

The draw for the fourth qualifying round was made on 4 October 2021, seeing 23 clubs from Level 5 join the 41 winners from the previous round. The draw included one team from Level 9, Hanley Town, who were eliminated after losing their replay. This left 8 teams from tier 8 as the lowest ranked teams remaining in the competition.

Broadcasting

The qualifying rounds were not covered by the FA Cup's broadcasting contracts held by BBC Sport and ITV, although one game per round was broadcast by the BBC on its media platforms.
RoundTieBroadcaster
Preliminary roundSheffield v Sherwood CollieryBBC Sport
First qualifying roundLichfield City v Nuneaton BoroughBBC Sport
Second qualifying roundSutton Common Rovers v Jersey BullsBBC Sport
Third qualifying roundHanley Town v Brackley TownBBC Sport
Fourth qualifying roundBromsgrove Sporting v Grimsby TownBBC Sport