| 2015–16 FA Cup Qualifying Rounds 2015-16 | ||
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| Region |  England Guernsey Wales
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← 2014–15
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2016–17 →
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The 2015–16 FA Cup Qualifying Rounds will open the 135th season of competition in England for 'The Football Association Challenge Cup' (FA Cup), the world's oldest association football single knockout competition. A total of 736 clubs were accepted for the competition, the same as the previous season.
The large number of clubs entering the tournament from lower down (Levels 5 through 10) in the English football pyramid meant that the competition will start with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockouts for these non-League teams. The 32 winning teams from Fourth Round Qualifying progress to the First Round Proper, where League teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 enter the competition.
Calendar[]
The calendar for the 2015–16 FA Cup qualifying rounds, as announced by The Football Association.
| Round | Main date | Number of fixtures | Clubs | New entries this round | Prize money |
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| Extra Preliminary Round | 15 August 2015 | 184 | 736 → 552 | 368: 369th–736th | £1,500 |
| Preliminary Round | 29 August 2015 | 160 | 552 → 392 | 136: 233rd–368th | £1,925 |
| First Round Qualifying | 12 September 2015 | 116 | 392 → 276 | 72: 161st–232nd | £3,000 |
| Second Round Qualifying | 26 September 2015 | 80 | 276 → 196 | 44: 117th–160th | £4,500 |
| Third Round Qualifying | 10 October 2015 | 40 | 196 → 156 | none | £7,500 |
| Fourth Round Qualifying | 24 October 2015 | 32 | 156 → 124 | 24: 93rd–116th | £12,500 |
Extra Preliminary Round[]
Extra Preliminary Round fixtures were due to be played on 15 August 2015, with replays taking place no later than 20 August 2015. A total of 368 teams, from Level 9 and Level 10 of English football, enter at this stage of the competition. The round includes 92 teams from Level 10 of English football, being the lowest ranked clubs to compete in the tournament. The results were as follows:
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Preliminary Round[]
Preliminary Round fixtures are due to be played on 29 August 2015, with replays no later than 4 September. A total of 320 teams will take part in this stage of the competition, including the 184 winners from the Extra Preliminary Round and 136 entering at this stage from the six leagues at Level 8 of English football. The round included 30 teams from Level 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked teams in this round. The draw was as follows:
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First Round Qualifying[]
First Round Qualifying fixtures are due to be played on 12 September 2015, with replays no later than 18 September. A total of 232 teams will take part in this stage of the competition, including the 160 winners from the Preliminary Round and 72 entering at this stage from the three leagues at Level 7 of English football. The draw was as follows:
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Competition proper[]
Winners from Fourth Round Qualifying advance to First Round Proper, where teams from League One (Level 3) and League Two (Level 4) of English football, operating in The Football League, first enter the competition. See 2015–16 FA Cup for a report of First Round Proper onwards.
External links[]
| 2015-16 FA Cup match days |
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Qualifying round | First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | Fifth round | Sixth round | Semi-Finals | Final |
