DUNDALK WILL PLAY the home leg of their Champions League play-off at the Aviva Stadium, it has been confirmed.
The Louth club made history by defeating BATE Borisov in the third qualifying round to guarantee at least eight more matches in Europe this season and secure a windfall of €5.4 million.
Stephen Kenny’s men are just one round away from making the group stages of the continent’s elite club competition, but defeat later this month will see them play in the Europa League group stages.
At 11am tomorrow morning, the Lilywhites discover which of Viktoria Plzen, Red Bull Salzburg, Celtic, APOEL Nicosia and Legia Warsaw they will face when the draw is made.
Having played at Tallaght Stadium this week as Oriel Park does not meet Uefa requirements, Kenny spoke of a desire to play the upcoming tie at the Aviva Stadium.
And a statement released this evening has confirmed Ireland’s international ground as the venue for Dundalk’s next European game at home — which will be played on either 16/17/23/24 August.
“We’re delighted that our next game will be at the Aviva Stadium.” said Kenny. “The players want to play on the biggest stage and in the national stadium. What we dream of in this League to play in the Aviva Stadium and to have it full – that does not happen very often.
We experienced playing there with the FAI Cup final last year so it is great to get to play in the Aviva Stadium again. We are very appreciative of the FAI’s help in that regard.”
The FAI will also provide administrational and operational assistance in the running of the game at no cost and Kenny added:
“The flexibility that the FAI have showed around League fixtures amongst the four clubs involved in Europe has helped the players recover adequately and that is important strategically when trying to reach your optimum level.
“Ger Dunne and his video analysis team, who have worked closely with our assistant manager, Vinny Perth, have helped us to prepare for our two previous opponents BATE Borisov and FH.”
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