In Champions League playoffs draw Faeroe Islands club KI sees unlikely path to face soccer's elite
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — The unlikely path of KI Klaksvík from the Faeroe Islands toward the Champions League group stage will go through Galatasaray or Olimpija Ljubljana in the playoff round which was drawn on Monday.
KI has eliminated Hungary’s Ferencváros and Sweden's Hacken to ensure it will play in one of the three men’s club competition group stages that start next month – a first for a club from the Faeroes, an isolated archipelago of islands in the Atlantic Ocean with a total population of around 50,000.
On Tuesday, KI returns to action by hosting Norwegian champion Molde in the first leg of the third qualifying round, which starts after the playoff round pairings were drawn.
KI or Molde will be at home in the first leg on Aug. 22 or 23 against Turkey's Galatasaray or Slovenia's Olimpija. The return game is on Aug. 29 or 30.
At this stage of the qualifying rounds, losing teams move to the next tier down ensuring KI will eventually enter the group stage of either the Europa League or the third-tier Europa Conference League. Playoff round pairings in both those competitions were also drawn on Monday.
Ajax was the standout name in the Europa League playoffs and the four-time European champion will face Astana or Ludogorets.
The Conference League includes Fiorentina — the beaten finalist last season — which got a late reprieve last month to represent Italy when UEFA removed Juventus for breaking financial monitoring rules. Fiorentina's playoff is against Rapid Vienna or Debrecen.
Six Champions League playoff pairings were drawn. The eventual winners will complete the lineup for the elite 32-team group stage that is drawn on Aug. 31 in Monaco.
In the section for teams that did not win their national title, Rangers and PSV Eindhoven were put on course for a repeat of their playoff one year ago that the Scottish club won.
Rangers faces Servette in the third qualifying round and the winner will advance to face PSV or Sturm Graz.
Marseille, the 1993 European champion, first plays Panathinaikos and the winner will advance to face Braga or Serbian debutant TSC Backa Topola.
Royal Antwerp, which won the Belgian title with a stoppage-time goal by Toby Alderweireld in the last game in June, enters in the playoff round and will face Dinamo Zagreb or AEK Athens.
Young Boys will face Maccabi Haifa or Slovan Bratislava. The winner of Aris Limassol against Rakow Czestochowa will play Sparta Prague or Copenhagen.
Ukraine already has Shakhtar Donetsk entered direct into the Champions League group stage and its runner-up and third-place teams last season could meet in the Europa League playoffs. If Dnipro-1 advances past Slavia Prague in the third qualifying round, then Zorya Luhansk awaits in the playoffs.
Ukrainian teams will play “home" games in neutral countries as UEFA ruled they cannot host in European competitions for security reasons during the Russian invasion. All Russian teams were banned from international competitions by FIFA and UEFA within days of the war starting in February last year.
UEFA also ensured on Monday that no Ukrainian team could be drawn against an opponent from Belarus, Russia's military ally.
BATE Borisov of Belarus is a potential opponent of KI Klaksvík in the Europa League playoffs, should the Faroese champion lose to Molde. BATE first plays Sheriff of Moldova in the Europa League third qualifying round.
In the Conference League playoffs, former European champion Aston Villa will return after a 13-year absence from UEFA competitions. The 1983 European Cup winner is away first on Aug. 24 against Hibernian or Lucerne.
Eintracht Frankfurt, which played in the Champions League last season because it won the Europa League in 2022, starts in the third tier against Hapoel Beer-Sheva or Levski Sofia.
Osasuna is finally in the Conference League after persuading UEFA to overturn a ban for historic match-fixing and will face Club Brugge — a Champions League round of 16 team last season — or KA Akureyri.
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