A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  England Wales |
The 2008–09 FA Cup qualifying rounds opened the 128th season of competition in England for 'The Football Association Challenge Cup' (FA Cup), the world's oldest association football single knockout competition. A new record 762 clubs were accepted for the competition, up 33 from the previous season's 729 – completing a significant increase of 75 teams (11%) from the 687 clubs just two seasons earlier. South Normanton Athletic folded before the fixtures were released, leaving 761 clubs to appear in the draw.
The large number of clubs entering the tournament from lower down (Levels 5 through 10) in the English football pyramid meant that the competition started with six rounds of preliminary (2) and qualifying (4) knockouts for these non-League teams. The 32 winning teams from fourth round qualifying progressed to the First round proper, where League teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 entered the competition.
Calendar
The calendar for the 2008–09 FA Cup qualifying rounds, as announced by The Football Association.
| Round | Start date | Leagues entering at this round | New entries this round | Winners from previous round | Number of fixtures | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | 16 August 2008 | Levels 9-10 | 406 | none | 203 | £750 |
| Preliminary round | 30 August 2008 | Level 8 | 129 | 203 | 166 | £1,500 |
| First round qualifying | 13 September 2008 | Level 7 | 66 | 166 | 116 | £3,000 |
| Second round qualifying | 27 September 2008 | Conference North Conference South |
44 | 116 | 80 | £4,500 |
| Third round qualifying | 11 October 2008 | none | none | 80 | 40 | £7,500 |
| Fourth round qualifying | 25 October 2008 | Conference Premier | 24 | 40 | 32 | £12,500 |
Extra preliminary round
The draw for the extra preliminary round was announced on The FA's website on 1 July 2008. 406 clubs from Level 9 and Level 10 of English football, entered at this stage of the competition.