The FA Cup first round proper of the 2024/25 season gets underway on Friday, November 1, when Huddersfield Town travel to Tamworth and Notts County host Alfreton Town.
League One, League Two and National League sides will compete in the competition for the first time this season as a result, with 40 games taking place across the course of the weekend. The winners of those games will then progress to the second round, which is scheduled for the end of November.
But when do Premier League and Championship teams enter the FA Cup? FourFourTwo details everything you need to know below...
When do Premier League and Championship teams enter the FA Cup?
Premier League and Championship teams enter the FA Cup in the third round, meaning there's still plenty of work to do for teams hoping of drawing one of the best in the country.
Commencing on January 11, the third round will consist of 32 games, meaning just 20 clubs from outside of the top two tiers in English football will remain in the competition.
For sides further down the football pyramid, reaching the third round is a lucrative business. Not only is there prize money for progressing through the FA Cup, but in drawing a Premier League or Championship side there's the promise of split gate receipts, potential TV revenue, and even the opportunity for a giant-killing - all of which are major boosts to clubs.
Only one Non-League side has ever managed to reach the quarter-finals in the FA Cup's 153-year existence, when Lincoln City faced Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium as a National League side in 2016/17. They lost 5-0
Why do Premier League and Championship teams enter the FA Cup in the third round?
With more than 700 teams playing in the FA Cup every year, it doesn't make sense for Premier League and Championship teams to enter the competition from the first round. Due to the way the draw works, where teams aren't seeded, if all 700-plus teams entered the competition at the same stage there's a risk of higher-level teams drawing each other early on.
Ultimately, the FA don't want that to happen, in order to ensure the greater spectacle of the Cup is retained for the latter rounds.
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Plus, with teams down to the ninth tier of English football competing in the FA Cup, hosting the likes Manchester United at a ground incapable of housing huge crowds raises safety concerns, too. In the same way that League One, League Two and National League sides enter the FA Cup in the first round proper, it is more logical for Premier League and Championship sides to enter at a later stage.
With prize money awarded to teams for every round they progress through, there'd be less chance of those finances being spread around the pyramid.
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