Second Division Sunderland won the competition for the second time, beating holders Leeds United 1–0 in the final at Wembley, London with a goal from Ian Porterfield.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday.
If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week.
Of the others, Hayes had last featured at this stage in 1964–65, Banbury United had last done so in 1961-62, Barnstaple Town had last done so in 1959-60 and Lancaster City had last done so in 1947-48.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 9 December 1972, with the exception of the Walsall–Charlton Athletic game which was played three days later.
The first attempted replay between Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich Albion was abandoned in the 81st minute with the score at 1–1 due to fog at the City Ground.
[1] The final took place on Saturday, 5 May 1973 at Wembley and ended in a victory for Sunderland over Leeds United by one goal to nil.