MTN FA Cup: 46 Clubs Join Premier League Sides in Round of 64
Nearly Half of 92 Clubs Fall as MTN FA Cup Preliminary Round Ends Only 46 of 92 lower-tier clubs survived a bruising MTN FA Cup preliminary round, setting up a Round of 64 showdown with all 18 Ghana Premier League sides. According to the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the preliminary round was played across four days, from Friday, 23 October to Monday, 26 October 2026, and involved 92 clubs drawn from the UMB Division One League and the Division Two League, Ghana's second- and third-tier competitions.
Of the 48 Division One League clubs that entered, only 32 made it through to the Round of 64, while just 14 of the 44 Division Two clubs survived. That means 16 Division One sides and 30 Division Two sides were knocked out at this early stage, a scale of elimination the GFA described as evidence of how competitive football has become at the grassroots level.
An official GFA graphic listing the Division One and Division Two clubs that qualified for the Round of 64. The arrival of the top-flight sides marks what the GFA has been calling the next phase of the "Obiaa Nye Obiaa" football festival, a nod to the FA Cup's tradition of allowing clubs of every size an equal shot at glory.
The tournament is being pushed under the GFA's #MyClubMyCommunityMyMTNFACup campaign, which frames the competition as a way of connecting elite football with local communities through derby-style pairings in neighbourhood parks and regional centres. Why It Matters For fans and smaller clubs across Ghana, the FA Cup remains one of the few competitions where a Division One or Division Two side can test itself directly against a Premier League giant such as Asante Kotoko or Accra Hearts of Oak.
A good cup run can also bring in gate revenue and exposure that lower-tier clubs rarely get during their normal league seasons. The scale of upsets in this year's preliminary round - with 46 of 92 clubs eliminated - suggests the gap between the lower divisions may be narrowing, though the GFA has not provided further details on specific match results.
What Happens Next The draw for the Round of 64 is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 17 November 2026, organised in zonal groupings designed to produce local derby matchups and keep travel costs manageable for the smaller clubs. The 32 Round of 64 fixtures are expected to be played over the weekend of 27 to 30 November 2026.
The GFA has not yet announced venues or kick-off times for the individual matches. Sources Ghana Football Association - MTN FA Cup 2026/27: 46 Clubs join Premier League giants for Round of 64 This article was produced by the Chale News desk with AI-assisted drafting from the sources listed above.