FA Cup Third Round Proper: Manchester United Draw Liverpool, But Eight Rounds Have Already Passed

The FA Cup, England’s biggest football tournament, has been going since August, much as that might surprise many who pay attention only to the Premier League. Because the cup is open to all senior-level clubs who are members of the FA-and even some that are members of the Football Association of Wales-there’s quite a bit of weeding out of those 759 clubs that must occur before the biggest clubs in the land jump in.

The weakest clubs first participate in two preliminary rounds before moving into the four qualifying rounds that occur before the “tournament proper” even begins. The clubs of League Two, the lowest division in the Football League, enter in the First Round Proper, clubs of League One in the Second Round Proper, and finally Championship and Premier League teams enter in the Third Round Proper. Of course, this means that many of the most lopsided matchups are prevented, with most, if not all, of the non-league clubs having fallen out by the time the bigger clubs enter.