1971–72 FA Cup

Qualifying rounds

Most clubs not in the Football League entered the qualifying rounds, with 28 places in the first round at stake. Winners from the fourth qualifying round included South Shields, Blyth Spartans, Scarborough, Bangor City, Ellesmere Port Town, Altrincham, Wigan Athletic, Nuneaton Borough, Rossendale United, Frickley Colliery, Boston United, Hereford United, Redditch United, Kettering Town, Alvechurch, King's Lynn, Maidenhead United, Enfield, Guildford City, Dover, Barnet, Romford, Margate, Basingstoke Town, Witney Town, Bridgwater Town, Crawley Town and Weymouth. Ellesmere Port Town, Redditch United, Alvechurch, Basingstoke Town and Witney Town appeared in the competition proper for the first time.

Results

In the first round, 48 Football League Third and Fourth Division clubs joined the non-league qualifiers, plus four additional non-league clubs receiving byes: Telford United, Hillingdon Borough, Skelmersdale United and Dagenham. Matches were scheduled for 20 November 1971, but the Aldershot-Alvechurch match was delayed until 24 November because Alvechurch's fourth qualifying round tie had gone to a fifth replay on 22 November. Ted MacDougall scored nine goals for AFC Bournemouth as they beat Margate 11–0, a record for the FA Cup proper. Nine drawn matches were settled by a single replay. In the second round, scheduled for 11 December 1971, six matches were drawn, one requiring a second replay. Notable results included Blyth Spartans 1–0 Stockport County, Hereford United drawing with Northampton Town before winning a second replay 2–1, and Boston United beating Hartlepool 2–1.

TV coverage

Rights to show FA Cup games were shared between the BBC and ITV network, with all games shown in highlights format except the final, which was broadcast live on both BBC1 and ITV. No games from rounds 1 or 2 were shown. The BBC programme Match Of The Day would show up to three games, while ITV regional stations covered up to one game and showed highlights from other matches. For the third round, BBC covered Swindon Town v Arsenal, Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City, Blackpool v Chelsea, Manchester United v Southampton (midweek replay), and Hereford United v Newcastle United (Saturday replay); ITV covered Southampton v Manchester United, West Ham United v Luton Town, Leeds United v Bristol Rovers, Peterborough United v Ipswich Town, Derby County v Shrewsbury, and Sunderland v Sheffield Wednesday.

Fourth round BBC games included Liverpool v Leeds United and Preston North End v Manchester United; ITV showed Reading v Arsenal, Birmingham City v Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town v Fulham, Everton v Walsall, Coventry City v Hull City, and the midweek replay Leeds United v Liverpool. Fifth round BBC covered Orient v Chelsea, Cardiff City v Leeds United, Manchester United v Middlesbrough, and the midweek replay Middlesbrough v Manchester United; ITV showed Everton v Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City v Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town v West Ham United, and Stoke City v Hull City.

Sixth round BBC showed Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United v Stoke City; ITV covered Orient v Arsenal and Birmingham City v Huddersfield Town. The semi-final BBC broadcast Birmingham City v Leeds United, while ITV showed Arsenal v Stoke City, including the midweek replay. The final between Arsenal and Leeds United was shown live on both BBC and all ITV regions.