UEFA announces Estonian clubs' European qualifying round opponents
The draws for the second qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League and Conference League took place on Wednesday in Nyon, Switzerland, with three Estonian clubs involved in this year's competitions.
Estonian champions FCI Levadia Tallinn kick off their European campaign at home to Icelandic side Reykjavik Vikingur in the semi-finals of the Champions League preliminary round on June 21.
If they are successful, Levadia will then face the winner of the other semi-final between San Marino's La Fiorita and Inter Club d'Escaldes of Andorra, in the preliminary round final on June 24.
The winners of that game move on to the first qualifying round of the Champions League proper, where their opponents will be Swedish champions Malmö FF.
Victory over Malmö would set up a second qualifying round clash against either FC Ballkani of Kosovo or Lithuania's FK Žalgiris, with a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League up for grabs.
However, if Levadia fail to overcome Malmö in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, their European adventure will continue in the Conference League, UEFA's third-tier competition. As a result of Wednesday's draw, this would see the Estonian champions facing off against Welsh side The New Saints, or Linfield from Northern Ireland.
Levadia would also drop into the Conference League if they are beaten in any of the subsequent Champions League qualifiers, with potential matches against Shamrock Rovers FC (Ireland), Hibernians FC (Malta), FC Pyunik (Armenia) or CFR Cluj (Romania) on the cards, depending on which stage they exit the competition at and the results of matches between the other teams involved.
For FC Flora Tallinn, who finished second in the Estonian Meistriliiga last season, the equation is a little less complicated. Flora begins their Conference League campaign with a two-legged first round qualifying tie against Finnish side SJK Seinäjoki. The first leg takes place in Tallinn on July 7, with the Estonians making the short trip to Finland for the return match a week later on July 14.
The winners will then battle it out with Norwegian league-leaders Lillestrøm SK in the second qualifying round, for a place in the group stages.
Paide Linnameeskond's Conference League campaign also starts on July 7, with a trip to Georgia. The Estonian Cup winners will face Dinamo Tbilisi in the first leg of their first qualifying round tie, before hosting the Georgian side for the second leg on July 14. Armenians FC Ararat-Armenia await the winners in the next round.
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Editor: Michael Cole