The First qualifying round fixtures were played on the weekend of 17 September 2011, with replays being played the following mid-week. A total of 232 clubs took part in this stage of the competition, including the 167 winners from the preliminary round and 65 entering at this stage from the top division of the three leagues at
Level 7 of English football, while
Chester from Northern Premier League were ineligible to participate as they only spent their second season. The round featured sixteen clubs from Level 10 still in the competition, being the lowest ranked clubs in this round. ==Second qualifying round==