NYON, Switzerland (AP) — The Champions League feel-good story last season, Bodø/Glimt’s path to return to the main competition will start against Union Saint-Gilloise in the qualifying rounds.
A pairing of two of the best-run, low-budget clubs in European soccer was the standout of Monday’s draw for the third qualifying round to be played in August.
Bodø/Glimt, from a Norwegian fishing town inside the Arctic Circle, had a stellar run to the round of 16 last season included a stunning series of wins against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan in January and February.
This time, as runner-up in the Norwegian league last season, Bodø/Glimt has an extra qualifying round to navigate and will start on Aug. 4 or 5 in Brussels against Belgian league runner-up Union.
Bodø/Glimt hosts the second leg at its 8,000-capacity Aspmyra Stadium on Aug. 11. The winner advances to the qualifying playoffs round with a place in the lucrative 36-team main phase at stake.
Union has a reputation as a smart, data-driven operator in the transfer market and made its debut last season in the Champions League main phase.
Also Monday, Lyon was paired with Sparta Prague, which will host the first leg in the Czech capital. Lyon is now majority owned by United States businesswoman Michele Kang.
Olympiakos, the winner of the third-tier Conference League title in 2024, will play NEC Nijmegen, which was the surprise third-place team in the Netherlands last season.
The winner of the second qualifying round pairing of Fenerbahce and Gornik Zabrze will play either Sturm Graz or Heart of Midlothian. The second qualifying round starts Tuesday.
In a separate draw for national champions of lower-ranked leagues, the 1991 European Cup winner Red Star Belgrade will face Hapoel Beer-Sheva or VÃkingur ReykjavÃk if it first eliminates Larne of Northern Ireland in the second qualifying round.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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