Eligible teams

All clubs in the Premier League and Football League are automatically eligible, and clubs in the next six levels of the English football league system are also eligible provided they have played in either the FA Cup, FA Trophy or FA Vase competitions in the previous season. Newly formed clubs that start playing in a high league, such as AFC Wimbledon or FC United of Manchester, may not therefore play in the FA Cup in their first season. All clubs entering the competition must also have a suitable stadium. It is very rare for top clubs to miss the competition, although it can happen in exceptional circumstances. Manchester United withdrew from the 1999–2000 competition due to their participation in the FIFA Club World Championship, although this was highly controversial at the time.

Welsh sides that play in English leagues are eligible, although since the creation of the League of Wales there are only six such clubs remaining: Cardiff City (the only non-English team to win the tournament, in 1927), Swansea City, Wrexham, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport County and Colwyn Bay. In the early years other teams from Wales, Ireland and Scotland also took part in the competition, with Glasgow side Queen's Park reaching the final in 1884 and 1885 before being barred from entering by the Scottish Football Association.

The number of entrants has increased greatly in recent years. In the 2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the long-standing record of 656 from the 1921–22 season. In 2005–06 this increased to 674 entrants, in 2006–07 to 687, in 2007–08 to 731 clubs, and for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 competitions it reached 762.

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