League of Ireland champions Shelbourne will play Linfield in an all-island clash in the first round of the Champions League qualifiers in July.
Damien Duff’s side will host the NIFL Premiership champions in Dublin on the 8th or 9th of July, with the return leg set for the following week at Windsor Park in Belfast on the 15th or 16th.
This is the second successive year where the champions of the Irish and Northern Irish leagues have faced off in European competition, with Shamrock Rovers beating Larne 4-1 in Windsor Park in the Uefa Conference League last October.
Linfield went into the draw as one of the seeded teams, as a result of their previous record in the competition.
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It is the Blues’ 15th appearance in the Champions League qualifying rounds this century. They also hold the record for the longest European run by an Irish team, with a quarter-final exit in the 1966/67 European Cup.
Meanwhile, Shels were unseeded, having not played in the Champions League qualifiers since the 2005/06 season.
In Europe last season, Linfield lost to Icelandic side Stjarnan FC 4-3 on aggregate in the Conference League first round. Shelbourne lost 3-0 to Switzerland’s FC Zurich in the second round of the same competition.
The teams were paired together in the draw at Uefa’s HQ in Nyon, Switzerland, where the Conference League draw also took place.
St Patrick’s Athletic are set to face Lithuanian side FC Hemmelberg in the first qualifying round of that competition.
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Hemmelberg finished second in the A Lyga, Lithuania’s top flight last season. They are currently in the same spot, but only behind on goal difference.
Although only founded in 2009, this is their second season in European competition, having lost 5-0 on aggregate to KF Shkupi of Macedonia last year.
Shamrock Rovers benefited from Drogheda’s bad fortune, following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to uphold Uefa’s removal of the FAI Cup winners from the Conference League.
The league leaders have been moved into the second round draw for the competition, which will take place on Wednesday.
Rovers finished 10th in the league phase of the Conference League and were knocked out in the next round by Molde FK on penalties.
They earned over €6 million through their performances in Europe last year, all the Irish teams in continental competition looking to follow suit.
