Both district clubs are away in the FA Cup at 3pm on Saturday, with £5,625 to the winners. Bury's away tickets are advance only, and the M5 shuts that night.
Two of the district’s clubs are in the FA Cup third qualifying round on Saturday 3 October, and both are on the road. Bromsgrove Sporting play at Bury, and Alvechurch play at Cambridge City. Both games kick off at 3pm.
The FA says the 40 ties in this round are worth £5,625 to each winner and £1,875 to each loser. A win puts a club into the fourth qualifying round, one step from the first round proper.
How they got here
Bromsgrove Sporting beat Leek Town 2-1 at home on 19 September. The club’s own match report has Lamin Barrow and Jamille Matt scoring before a stoppage-time reply. Sporting have not lost since:
- 3-2 at Stratford Town in the league on 22 September
- 1-0 at Racing Club Warwick in the FA Trophy on 26 September
- 1-1 at home to Leamington on 29 September, which ended an eight-match winning run
The club says the Leamington draw made it nine games unbeaten.
Alvechurch beat AFC Wolverhampton City 2-0 in the first qualifying round on 5 September. They then beat Racing Club Warwick 3-1 at Lye Meadow on 19 September, with goals from Nick Clayton-Phillips, Miracle Okafor and substitute Kieran Wakefield. The club’s report says this is the fifth time since 2017/18 that Alvechurch have reached the third qualifying round.
The opposition
Bury’s own match preview describes a side in form. It says the Shakers have scored 35 goals this season. They won 8-0 in one qualifying round, then beat Workington 5-1 at Gigg Lane in the next. They beat Gainsborough Trinity on penalties last Saturday.
The same preview gives Bury supporters a short history of their visitors. Bromsgrove Sporting were founded in 2009, after Bromsgrove Rovers’ financial collapse left the town without a senior club. Their rules stop any one person owning more than 10% of the club, a direct answer to what happened to Rovers.
Sporting’s manager, Tim Flowers, was already looking ahead in the club’s Coaches’ Corner on 28 September. “It’s October 1st in a few days! We go to Bury and Bedford soon,” he said, adding that the club has “some massive games coming up in the next four weeks”.
Going to Bury
The tie is at Gigg Lane, Bury BL9 9HR. Bury’s match information page says:
- away supporters go in the Cemetery End
- away supporters must buy tickets in advance; paying on the gate is for home supporters only
- tickets are sold through the club’s online ticketing page
Bury has not published the away ticket price on that page, so check it when you book.
Going to Cambridge City
Cambridge City play at the FWD-IP Community Stadium, West Way, Sawston, CB22 3FG. Sawston is a village about seven miles south of Cambridge. The club’s ticket page lists:
| Ticket | Price | Booking fee |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £11.00 | 28p |
| Concession (65 and over, 16 to 18) | £6.00 | 15p |
| Under 16 | Free | None |
Online sales close at 23:50 on Friday 2 October. Turnstiles open at 1pm.
If you cannot go
Bury is streaming the game worldwide on its Shakers Live service, at £9.99 for a match pass. Roch Valley Radio has audio commentary from the press box, and the club runs text updates on its MatchDay Live account on X.
Sporting post live updates on X (@SportingFC), with shorter updates on Facebook and Instagram.
What it means for you
- If you are going to Bury, buy your ticket before you travel. You will not get in on the gate as an away fan.
- If you are going to Sawston, buy online by 23:50 on Friday. Under-16s go free.
- If you are driving home from Bury on Saturday night, plan round the M5. National Highways’ closure report shuts the M5 southbound between junction 1 at West Bromwich and junction 3 at Halesowen from 20:00 on Saturday to 08:00 on Sunday. The M42 southbound link to the M5 at junction 4a is also shut from 21:00. Our Bromsgrove roadworks page has the full list.
- Saturday’s winners go into the fourth qualifying round draw and are guaranteed at least £3,125 more from the prize fund.
Sources
- The FA, Emirates FA Cup third round qualifying draw, 21 September 2026, for the 40 ties, the weekend of 3 October and the £5,625 and £1,875 payments.
- The FA, Emirates FA Cup prize fund 2026-27, for the third and fourth qualifying round payments.
- Bromsgrove Sporting, Bury v Bromsgrove Sporting fixture page, for the competition, round, date and kick-off.
- Bromsgrove Sporting, match report v Leek Town, 19 September 2026, v Stratford Town, 22 September, v Racing Club Warwick, 26 September and v Leamington, 29 September.
- Bromsgrove Sporting, Coaches’ Corner, 28 September 2026, for Tim Flowers’ comments.
- Bury FC, match info: Bromsgrove Sporting (H), 30 September 2026, for the away end, advance-only away tickets, the stream and commentary, Bury’s 35 goals and its profile of Sporting.
- Bury FC, Bury 5-1 Workington match report, 20 September 2026, for the second qualifying round result and the 8-0 win before it.
- Alvechurch FC, match report: Alvechurch 3 Racing Club Warwick 1, 21 September 2026, for the scorers and the fifth third-qualifying-round appearance since 2017/18.
- Alvechurch FC news, for the 2-0 first qualifying round win over AFC Wolverhampton City on 5 September.
- Cambridge City FC, Cambridge City v Alvechurch, for the venue, kick-off, prices, sales deadline and turnstile time.
- National Highways road closure report, 30 September to 6 October 2026, for the M5 and M42 closures on Saturday night.
Have your say