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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.
The draw for the Extra Preliminary Round was announced on The FA's website on Tuesday, 1 July.
Matches in the Preliminary Round were played on the weekend of Saturday, 30 August 2008, with replays played on 2 September and 3 September 2008. The draw for the round was announced on The FA's website on Tuesday, 1 July.
† – After extra time
† – After extra time
Matches in the First Round Qualifying were played on the weekend of Saturday, 13 September 2008. Replays were played on 16 and 17 September 2008. The draw for the round was announced on The FA's website on Tuesday, 1 July.