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| FA CUP |
The draw, held on Monday evening (19 October 2026) and conducted by former Arsenal defender Martin Keown and ex-England international Fara Williams under the hosting of Matt Smith, set up 40 ties to be played across the weekend of 7-8 November. Winners will each pocket £47,750 from the prize fund, with losers receiving £15,800—vital sums for non-league clubs that have already navigated multiple qualifying rounds.
This stage marks the traditional entry point for the 48 EFL clubs from the third and fourth tiers. Championship and Premier League sides wait until the third round in January. The result is a mix of potential banana skins for higher-ranked teams and dream paydays or glory nights for the survivors from the lower reaches of the pyramid.
Standout ties and the romance of the Cup
Several fixtures immediately stand out. Leicester City, FA Cup winners as recently as 2021 and now in League One after successive relegations, travel to National League North side Oxford City.
It is the Foxes first appearance at this stage since 2008. Oxford City earned their place with a composed 1-0 win at Torquay United in the fourth qualifying round, extending an impressive unbeaten run. For a club three divisions below Leicester, hosting a side that was in the Premier League only a couple of seasons ago represents a significant financial and sporting opportunity at the MGroup Stadium.
Peterborough United versus Reading carries a personal narrative. Posh manager Robbie Savage will face a side featuring his son Charlie. Family rivalries in cup football always add an extra layer of intrigue, and this one is likely to attract attention beyond the usual football audience.
Oldham Athletic host Sheffield Wednesday at Boundary Park. The Owls, traditional heavyweights now competing in League One, face a well-supported lower-league outfit with history between the clubs. Oldham fans have already been vocal about wanting a strong allocation for the visitors, signalling the potential for a lively atmosphere. @swfc
Further down the pyramid, the stories are even more compelling. Eighth-tier AFC Rushden & Diamonds, a phoenix club founded in 2011 after the collapse of the original Rushden & Diamonds, have reached the first round proper for the first time in their history.
They achieved it by winning five ties, culminating in a 2-1 home victory over National League North side Morecambe. Their reward is an away trip to League One’s Burton Albion—a huge step up but a landmark occasion for a community-owned club that started this campaign in the Extra Preliminary Round.
Ninth-tier Tadley Calleva, the lowest-ranked side still involved, forced a replay against National League Aldershot Town after a remarkable 2-2 draw at the Recreation Ground, twice coming from behind in front of 883 travelling supporters.
Should they progress on Tuesday night at Barlows Park, they will face League One Barnsley. For a Combined Counties League Premier Division South club, this run already represents club history; reaching the first round proper would be transformative. Assistant manager George Coffin described the moment of reaching the draw as emotional for the town.
Other first-time or rare appearances include Plymouth Parkway (Southern League) hosting Berkhamsted, Wimborne Town (back in the first round for the first time since 1982) against Crawley Town, and Sholing facing Salisbury in an all-non-league southern clash. Berkhamsted’s shock win at Southend United was one of the standout results of the qualifying rounds.
Full list of first-round ties
The complete draw (with unresolved fourth-qualifying-round ties noted) is as follows:
• Dover Athletic vs Wealdstone
• Mansfield Town vs Macclesfield or Anstey Nomads
• Huddersfield Town vs Exeter City
• Luton Town vs Chesham United or Forest Green Rovers
• Bristol Rovers vs Cambridge United
• Oldham Athletic vs Sheffield Wednesday
• Kidderminster Harriers vs Doncaster Rovers
• Leyton Orient vs Harborough Town
• Accrington Stanley vs Wycombe Wanderers
• MK Dons vs Swindon Town
• Newport County vs Walsall
• Bromley vs Rotherham United
• Barnet vs Tranmere Rovers
• Fleetwood Town vs Rochdale
• Barnsley vs Aldershot Town or Tadley Calleva
• Plymouth Parkway vs Berkhamsted
• Chesterfield vs Leatherhead or Yeovil Town
• Gillingham vs Barrow or Gloucester City
• Bury or Harrogate Town vs AFC Fylde
• Crewe Alexandra vs AFC Wimbledon
• Oxford United vs Stevenage
• Burton Albion vs AFC Rushden & Diamonds
• Bedford Town or Cray Wanderers vs Stockport County
• Port Vale vs Scunthorpe United
• Cheltenham Town vs FC Halifax Town
• Colchester United vs Chorley or Worcester City
• Eastleigh vs Shrewsbury Town
• Peterborough United vs Reading
• Wimborne Town vs Crawley Town
• Plymouth Argyle vs Spalding United or Alvechurch
• Hornchurch vs Blackpool
• Guiseley vs Sutton United
• Gateshead or Stafford Rangers vs Grimsby Town
• Oxford City vs Leicester City
• Bradford City vs Marine
• York City vs Northampton Town
• Altrincham or FC United of Manchester vs Notts County
• Boreham Wood vs Wigan Athletic
• Carlisle United vs Salford City
• Salisbury vs Sholing
Eleven fourth-qualifying-round replays are scheduled for Tuesday 20 October to finalise the remaining participants.
Context, prize money and the bigger picture
The FA Cup’s structure continues to reward perseverance from the grassroots. Clubs that began in the Extra Preliminary Round in early August have already played five or more matches. The financial rewards escalate sharply: fourth-qualifying winners banked £9,375, while first-round success multiplies that significantly.
For part-time players balancing day jobs with training and travel, these sums can fund better facilities, coaching or simply keep clubs viable.
Historically, this round has produced memorable upsets and long cup runs. Non-league sides will look to previous giant-killings for inspiration, while EFL clubs treat these fixtures with caution—especially those fighting for promotion or battling relegation. Leicester’s presence adds glamour; a potential deep run for the Foxes would offer a welcome distraction from their League One campaign. Similarly, clubs like Sheffield Wednesday, Reading and Stockport County will see progression as both a confidence booster and a revenue opportunity.
Broadcast details for individual ties will be confirmed later, but the draw itself was available live on TNT Sports 1, HBO Max and the TNT Sports YouTube channel. Further scheduling announcements from the FA are expected in the coming days.
The first round proper remains one of English football’s purest expressions of the game’s breadth: multi-million-pound squads sharing the same competition as teams whose grounds hold a few hundred and whose players train after work. Whether it’s Leicester navigating a potential banana skin in Oxford, a phoenix club like AFC Rushden & Diamonds testing themselves against League One opposition, or Tadley Calleva chasing the ultimate underdog story, the weekend of 7-8 November already promises drama, emotion and the possibility of more history being written.
The ties are set. Now the real business of the 2026-27 Emirates FA Cup begins.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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