Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, nine non-League football clubs – that is, clubs outside the divisions of The Football League and, since 1992, the Premier League – have reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, to become one of the last 16 clubs in the competition. To date, only Lincoln City has subsequently reached the next round, the "quarter-finals" (formerly called the Sixth Round). The last non-League team to reach the quarter-finals (then the Fourth Round) was Queen Park Rangers of the Southern Football League in 1914, when the Southern League ran parallel to the Football League as opposed to being a feeder to it (with the National League in between) as it is today.
The most recent example of a non-league team beating top-flight opposition in the FA Cup was Lincoln City's Fifth Round victory away at Burnley in 2017.[1] The last time a non-league side beat top-flight opposition at home in the FA Cup was Sutton United's Third Round victory over Coventry City in 1989.
In 2017, two non-League teams made it to the Fifth Round of the competition, Lincoln City and Sutton United. This was the first time two non-League teams had made it this far in the same season since the establishment of the Football League in 1888.[2] Lincoln City subsequently became the first non-League team in 103 years and the first since World War I to make the quarter finals, but lost 5–0 to Arsenal.[3]
1947–48 – Colchester United – Southern League | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
4th qualifying | Saturday 15 November 1947 | Chelmsford City | Away | 3–1[4] |
1st | Saturday 29 November 1947 | Banbury Spencer | Home | 2–1[4] |
2nd | Saturday 13 December 1947 | Wrexham | Home | 1–0[4] |
3rd | Saturday 10 January 1948 | Huddersfield Town | Home | 1–0[4] |
4th | Saturday 24 January 1948 | Bradford Park Avenue | Home | 3–2[4] |
5th | Saturday 7 February 1948 | Blackpool | Away | 0–5[4] |
1948–49 – Yeovil Town – Southern League | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
4th qualifying | Saturday 13 November 1948 | Lovell's Athletic | Away | 3–2[5] |
1st | Saturday 27 November 1948 | Romford | Home | 4–0[5] |
2nd | Saturday 11 December 1948 | Weymouth | Away | 4–0[5] |
3rd | Saturday 8 January 1949 | Bury | Home | 3–1[5] |
4th | Saturday 29 January 1949 | Sunderland | Home | 2–1[5] |
5th | Saturday 12 February 1949 | Manchester United | Away | 0–8[5] |
1977–78 – Blyth Spartans – Northern League | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
1st qualifying | Saturday 17 September 1977 | Shildon | Away | 3–0[6] |
2nd qualifying | Saturday 8 October 1977 | Crook Town | Away | 1–1[6] |
2nd qualifying (replay) | Wednesday 12 October 1977 | Crook Town | Home | 3–0[6] |
3rd qualifying | Saturday 22 October 1977 | Consett | Away | 4–1[6] |
4th qualifying | Saturday 5 November 1977 | Bishop Auckland | Away | 1–0[6] |
1st | Saturday 26 November 1977 | Burscough | Home | 1–0[6] |
2nd | Saturday 17 December 1977 | Chesterfield | Home | 1–0[6] |
3rd | Saturday 7 January 1978 | Enfield | Home | 1–0[6] |
4th | Monday 6 February 1978 | Stoke City | Away | 3–2[6] |
5th | Saturday 18 February 1978 | Wrexham | Away | 1–1[6] |
5th (replay) | Monday 27 February 1978 | Wrexham | Home | 1–2[6] |
1984–85 – Telford United – Alliance Premier League | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
1st | Saturday 17 November 1984 | Lincoln City | Away | 1–1[7] |
1st (replay) | Tuesday 20 November 1984 | Lincoln City | Home | 2–1[7] |
2nd | Saturday 8 December 1984 | Preston North End | Away | 4–1[7] |
3rd | Saturday 5 January 1985 | Bradford City | Home | 2–1[7] |
4th | Tuesday 29 January 1985 | Darlington | Away | 1–1[7] |
4th (replay) | Monday 4 February 1985 | Darlington | Home | 3–0[7] |
5th | Saturday 16 February 1985 | Everton | Away | 0–3[7] |
1993–94 – Kidderminster Harriers – Football Conference | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
4th qualifying | Saturday 23 October 1993 | Chesham United | Away | 4–1[8] |
1st | Saturday 13 November 1993 | Kettering Town | Home | 3–0[8] |
2nd | Saturday 4 December 1993 | Woking | Home | 1–0[8] |
3rd | Saturday 8 January 1994 | Birmingham City | Away | 2–1[8] |
4th | Saturday 29 January 1994 | Preston North End | Home | 1–0[8] |
5th | Saturday 19 February 1994 | West Ham United | Home | 0–1[8] |
2010–11 – Crawley Town – Conference National | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
4th qualifying | Saturday 23 October 2010 | Newport County | Away | 1–0[9] |
1st | Saturday 6 November 2010 | Guiseley | Away | 5–0[9] |
2nd | Friday 26 November 2010 | Swindon Town | Home | 1–1[10] |
2nd (replay) | Tuesday 7 December 2010 | Swindon Town | Away | 3–2[11] |
3rd | Monday 10 January 2011 | Derby County | Home | 2–1[12] |
4th | Saturday 29 January 2011 | Torquay United | Away | 1–0[13] |
5th | Saturday 19 February 2011 | Manchester United | Away | 0–1[14] |
2012–13 – Luton Town – Conference National | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
4th qualifying | Saturday 20 October 2012 | Cambridge United | Away | 2–0[15] |
1st | Saturday 3 November 2012 | Nuneaton Town | Home | 1–1[15] |
1st (replay) | Tuesday 13 November 2012 | Nuneaton Town | Away | 2–0[15] |
2nd | Saturday 1 December 2012 | Dorchester Town | Home | 2–1[16] |
3rd | Saturday 5 January 2013 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Home | 1–0[17] |
4th | Saturday 26 January 2013 | Norwich City | Away | 1–0[18] |
5th | Saturday 16 February 2013 | Millwall | Home | 0–3[19] |
2016–17 – Lincoln City – National League | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
4th qualifying | Saturday 15 October 2016 | Guiseley | Home | 0–0[20] |
4th qualifying (replay) | Tuesday 18 October 2016 | Guiseley | Away | 2–1[20] |
1st | Saturday 5 November 2016 | Altrincham | Home | 2–1[21] |
2nd | Monday 5 December 2016 | Oldham Athletic | Home | 3–2[22] |
3rd | Saturday 7 January 2017 | Ipswich Town | Away | 2–2[23] |
3rd (replay) | Tuesday 17 January 2017 | Ipswich Town | Home | 1–0[24] |
4th | Saturday 28 January 2017 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Home | 3–1[25] |
5th | Saturday 18 February 2017 | Burnley | Away | 1–0[1] |
Quarter-finals | Saturday 11 March 2017 | Arsenal | Away | 0–5[3] |
2016–17 – Sutton United – National League | ||||
Round | Date | Against | At | Score |
4th qualifying | Saturday 15 October 2016 | Forest Green Rovers | Home | 2–1[26] |
1st | Saturday 5 November 2016 | Dartford | Away | 6–3[27] |
2nd | Saturday 3 December 2016 | Cheltenham Town | Home | 2–1[28] |
3rd | Saturday 7 January 2017 | AFC Wimbledon | Home | 0–0[29] |
3rd (replay) | Tuesday 17 January 2017 | AFC Wimbledon | Away | 3–1[30] |
4th | Sunday 29 January 2017 | Leeds United | Home | 1–0[31] |
5th | Monday 20 February 2017 | Arsenal | Home | 0–2[32] |