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Scottish clubs set for cutdown European qualifiers

THE qualifying rounds for next season’s Champions League and Europa League will primarily consist of onelegged ties, UEFA have announced.

Aleksander Ceferin, president of European football’s governing body, announced the change in format at the association’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland yesterday.

The qualifying campaign for next season’s continental tournaments will begin in August and will conclude at the beginning of November.

Celtic have qualified for next season’s Champions League qualifying after sealing their ninth successive Premiership title last season, while Rangers, Motherwell and Aberdeen will all compete in next Europa League.

Neil Lennon’s side will enter at the first qualifying round, where they will take part in a one-legged tie – with the venue to be determined by which side is drawn out of the hat first.

That process will remain for the second and third qualifying rounds but the play-off for the group stage will be a twolegged affair.

The qualifying campaign will begin with the preliminary round on August 8/11, followed by the first round on August 18/19, the second round on 25/26 August and the third season’s round on September 15/16. The final play-off round will go ahead on September 22/23 and 29/30.

Meanwhile, the Europa League qualifiers will consist entirely of one-legged ties with the process beginning in August and concluding at the start of October.

The preliminary round will get under way on August 20, followed by the first round of qualifying on August 27, the second round on September 17, the third on September 24, with the play-offs going ahead on October 1.

UEFA meanwhile confirmed that Glasgow will remain one of 12 host cities for EURO 2020, which will now go ahead in the summer of next year. Three Group D matches will be held at Hampden Park on June 14, 18 and 22, and will be followed by a last 16 match on June 29.

Rod Petrie, Scottish FA president, said: “We have been in regular dialogue with our colleagues at UEFA throughout the intervening period.

“I would like to thank all partners involved in LOS Glasgow for their efforts in ensuring the city can fulfil the requirements to co-host UEFA EURO 2020.”