The National IFA Cup is an optional competition for IFA members, and not all clubs enter. This year clubs have been offered a sort of seeded draw at the early stages. You could opt to be regionalised, if you were concerned about long distance travelling; or you could opt for the 'national' part of the draw. Which was for the more adventurous, or gamblers who might want to play someone they haven't encountered before & have a 50/50 chance of a bit of a hike to an away game! We opted for the regionalised part of the draw.
A total of twenty eight teams have entered, from all over England & Scotland, which means a First Round of twelve ties, with four teams receiving byes to the last sixteen of the competition. And lady luck shone upon us, as we received one of those byes, along with Tranmere Rovers; Livingston & Dundee United!
The clubs having to play in the First Round are as follows:
Brentford v. Hearts
Hampton & Richmond Borough v. Queens Park Rangers
AFC Wimbledon v. Bury 'B'
Watford v. Kingstonian
Sheffield United v. Motherwell
Nottingham Forest v. Port Vale
Hull City v. Preston North End
Halifax Town v. Ayr United
Rochdale v. Chester City
Aberdeen v. Grimsby Town (something fishy about that tie!)
Airdrie v. Bury 'A'
Hibernian v. Raith Rovers
Woooooo, I know it's early. But any ideas as to the dates of these and more importantly the possible date of our match?
ReplyDeleteOr when they've gotta be played by?