THEY WON’T BE paired with Celtic, but Cork City look set to face a daunting task nevertheless when they fly the Irish flag in the 2018/19 Champions League.
The reigning SSE Airtricity League Premier Division champions are unseeded in tomorrow’s first qualifying round draw, which takes place at 11am Irish time in Nyon, Switzerland.
Uefa today confirmed a breakdown of three separate groupings in the 32-team draw, which means that Cork’s list of potential opponents has been whittled down to five.
Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers and Derry City will be among the 94 clubs in the hat for the first qualifying round draw in the Europa League, which will happen at 11am on Wednesday.
Specific breakdowns for that trio’s potential opponents have yet to be confirmed, although Dundalk — who reached the group stages in 2016 — will have the benefit of being seeded as a result of their previous exploits in Europe.
Stephen Kenny’s side will be very familiar with two of the clubs who Cork City can be drawn against. Polish champions Legia Warsaw denied Dundalk a place in the Champions League group stages in 2016-17, while Norwegian champions Rosenborg eliminated the Irish outfit after extra-time in the second qualifying round last season.
Also potentially standing in Cork City’s way are Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), HJK Helsinki (Finland) and Swedish champions Malmo, who the Leesiders got the better of when the clubs previously met in the 2004 Intertoto Cup.
The draws for the second qualifying rounds of both the Champions League and Europa League will also be made tomorrow and on Wednesday respectively.
Should Cork City lose their first qualifying round Champions League tie — the two legs of which are scheduled for 10-11 and 17-18 July — they will automatically proceed to the second qualifying round of the Europa League instead.
UEFA has confirmed our five possible opponents in tomorrow's @ChampionsLeague first qualifying round draw (11am):
— Cork City FC (@CorkCityFC) June 18, 2018
🇧🇬 Bulgaria – Ludogorets Razgrad
🇵🇱 Poland – Legia Warsaw
🇸🇪 Sweden – Malmö FF
🇳🇴 Norway – Rosenborg
🇫🇮 Finland – HJK Helsinki#CITYINEUROPE #CCFC84
Cork are guaranteed to earn at least €800,000 from this year’s European campaign, while the three sides involved in the Europa League will each bring in a minimum of 240,000.
