by Matt Morlidge
Dover Athletic v Bromley
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Third Round Qualifying
3pm, Saturday 6 October 2012
Winning clubs will receive £7,500 from The FA prize fund
Click here for all the Third Round Qualifying ties
If Dover Athletic are going to reach the First Round Proper or further in The FA Cup with Budweiser, they can certainly look to their player-manager for help.
The Conference North side are at home to local league rivals Bromley this Saturday in the Third Round Qualifying, and Nicky Forster has his own dreams for his team this season.
Forster's last goals in The FA Cup came for Brighton at Aston Villa in the Fourth Round in 2010, and the former striker believes the competition will always have a special feel to it.
He said: "I would be very proud to see my boys walk out at a venue like that [Villa Park]."
"The competition will always hold a special feel to it; it's the oldest cup competition in the world. When you're where we are it gives you that opportunity to get yourselves to the First Round Proper, to get a big draw against someone in League One or Two.
"The dream is also getting beyond that and going away from home against one of the big clubs.
"Playing for Dover Athletic and getting the chance to play at somewhere like Old Trafford or the Emirates is a really special feeling."
Forster's playing career took in 13 clubs and despite his own experiences in The FA Cup, he believes everyone can familiarise with the competition.
He said: "A lot of our players have played in The Cup at some level so they're familiar with it. You see year in, year out now that lower league clubs' games against league opposition are televised, so that's inspiration for them.
"We've all grown up with The FA Cup in our lives somewhere along the line; we've all got a defining memory. For me, it's Keith Houchen's header at Wembley [in the 1987 Final].
"We all know how special the competition is."
Bromley will provide a stern test for the Kent side, who beat Gillingham on the way to the Third Round in 2010-11, and Forster believes that while they could have landed an easier tie, The Cup has its charms whoever you are playing.
He added: "The competition is very important to the club, and it doesn't matter how you get to the First Round.
"You'd love to play lower league opposition because statistically that gives you a better chance of getting through, but there are no easy games.
"We've been knocked out by teams below us and beaten teams above us, so you never quite know."
The Budweiser Club Futures programme will give 16 grants of £50,000 to clubs in steps 5–7 national league system over the next two years. Two £100,000 super grants are also up for grabs. If your club is in need of help to fund a project, Budweiser Club Futures applications can be made here before the closing date of 31 October 2012.
