The 2018–19 FA Cup qualifying rounds open the 138th 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 teams were accepted for the competition, a decrease of 1 from the previous year's 737.
The large number of clubs (644) entering the tournament from lower down (Levels 5 to 10) in the English football pyramid required the competition to start with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockouts for these non-League teams. The 32 winning teams from the Fourth Qualifying Round progressed to the First Round Proper, where League teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 entered the competition.
Extra Preliminary Round fixtures are to be played on Friday 10, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 August 2018; replays are to take place no later than Thursday 16 August 2018. The draw was held on Friday 6 July 2018. A total of 368 teams, from Level 8, Level 9 and Level 10 of English football, will enter at this stage of the competition. The round will include 80 teams from Level 10 of English football, the lowest ranked clubs to compete in the tournament. The draw was as follows:
Match played at Kirkley & Pakefield after the first attempt was postponed because of an unplayable pitch at FC Clacton.
First Qualifying Round[]
First Qualifying Round fixtures were to be played on Friday 7, Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September 2018; replays no later than Thursday 13 September 2018. The draw was held on 28 August 2018. A total of 232 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 160 winners from the Preliminary Round and 72 entering at this stage from the four leagues at Level 7 of English football. The round included 8 teams from Level 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition. The results were as follows:
Second Qualifying Round fixtures were played on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September 2018; the last replay played on Thursday 7 October 2018. The draw was held on 10 September 2018. A total of 160 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 116 winners from the First Qualifying Round and 44 entering at this stage from the two leagues at Level 6 of English football. The round included 3 teams from Level 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition. The results were as follows:
Third Qualifying Round fixtures were to be played on Saturday 6 October 2018 with all replays completed by Thursday 11 October 2018. The draw took place on 24 September 2018. The 80 winning teams from the Second Qualifying Round took part in this stage of the competition and no additional teams entered at this stage. The round included one team, Dunston UTS, from Level 9 of the football pyramid as the lowest-ranked team still in the competition. The results were as follows:
Fourth Qualifying Round fixtures were played on Saturday 20 October 2018 with all replays completed by Thursday 25 October 2018. The draw took place on 8 October 2018. A total of 64 teams took part in this stage of the competition: the 40 winners from the Third Qualifying Round and the 24 members of the National League who entered at this stage, representing Level 5 of English football. The round included Dunston UTS from Level 9 of the football pyramid, the lowest-ranked team still in the competition. The draw was as follows.
Preliminary Round fixtures will be played on Saturday 25 August 2018; replays will take place no later than Thursday 30 August 2018. The draw was held on 6 July 2018. A total of 320 teams took part in this stage of the competition, including the 184 winners from the Extra Preliminary Round and 136 entering at this stage from Level 7 and Level 8 of English football. The round include at least 12 teams from Level 10, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition. The draw was as follows:
The Qualifying Rounds aren't covered by the FA Cup's broadcasting contracts held by BBC Sport and BT Sport, although one game per round will be broadcast by the BBC on its media platforms.