SportsCatch
EN

FA Cup third qualifying round draw set to reveal non-league opponents on September 21

The FA Cup third qualifying round draw takes place at 1pm on 21 September 2026, with non-league sides discovering their opponents as the world's oldest football competition continues to take shape.

1 min read
FA Cup third qualifying round draw set to reveal non-league opponents on September 21
Share

The FA Cup third qualifying round draw is scheduled for 1pm on 21 September 2026, with non-league clubs across England learning who they must overcome to advance in the world’s oldest football competition.

Premier League sides do not enter the FA Cup until January, leaving the early qualifying rounds as the domain of non-league football. These clubs have been plotting their routes through the competition since August, and the third qualifying round draw represents another significant step toward the first round proper.

Last season’s final was won by Manchester City, who defeated Chelsea to lift the trophy. For the clubs involved in Saturday’s draw, that occasion remains a distant but motivating prospect — every qualifying tie is a step closer to a potential giant-killing run.

The FA will publish the full draw on their official website once it is completed.

Share
{# Sitewide native fullscreen interstitial — our own bet-CTA card blown up to a takeover (replaces the SDK overlay). The shared card animations + countdown load once, AFTER the interstitial markup, so the countdown script's first tick sees this card's node too (the in-read card, in
above, already exists). One include covers both surfaces. #}