Next month, Barry Town United will find out their preliminary round opponents in the UEFA Europa League.
Barry will be competing in their second consecutive European campaign after being nominated following their fourth placed finish in the JD Cymru Premier.
Unlike in previous campaigns for Welsh sides, their tie will be decided in a one-legged playoff.
Barry are the only Welsh club in the preliminary round, which takes place in a straight knock-out match on 20 August with TNS and Bala both getting a bye to the first qualifying round a week later.
The list of Barry’s potential opponents is starting to take shape, with the league season now ended in five of the eight leagues with clubs in this round.
The Faroe Islands nominate based on last Summer’s completed league table and cup competition, while Wales, Gibraltar and San Marino all ended the 2019/20 season early, their national associations ending the season in May.
In Northern Ireland, concluding the season has been controversial with Linfield declared Champions this week after months of wrangling.
Both Kosovo and Montenegro have re-started their season, while testing of players has started in Andorra to facilitate a re-start.
While country ranking decides which round a club enters UEFA competition, it’s the club’s own record which decides who will be seeded in each round.
Barry will be unseeded in the draw, while all three of the Faroe Islands clubs could be amongst the seeds – a 3 in 8 chance of Barry facing Faroese opposition.
Other possible opponents could come from Belfast. Runners-up Coleraine will be unseeded, but if the final place goes to either Cliftonville or Crusaders, then they will be seeded in the draw.
To do that, Cliftonville need to win the Irish Cup, which is to be completed before 3 August whilst Crusaders will be waiting to see if Coleraine win the Cup – which would mean they get the last space because Coleraine have already qualified through the league.
The other potential Northern Irish entrants – Ballymena, Glentoran or Larne would be unseeded.
Lincoln Red Imps, knocked out by TNS in 2018, will be amongst the eight seeded clubs, as will Tre Penne of San Marino.
Based on current league positions, which may change in coming weeks, other seeded clubs could include FC Santa Coloma of Andorra and Sutjeska of Montenegro.
It’s unlikely that any side from Kosovo will be seeded in the preliminary round unless league and cup outcomes in Andorra and Montenegro substantially change.
Best guesses based on current position. 27.06.2020. Ticked clubs have already qualified.
| Probable Seeded Clubs | Probable Unseeded Clubs | ||
| Lincoln Red Imps (GIB) | 5.250 ✔ | Engordany (AND) | 2.000 |
| Crusaders (NIR) (or Cliftonville) | 5.250 (2.500) | St Josephs (GIB) | 1.750 ✔ |
| FC Santa Coloma (AND) | 4.500 | Prishtina (KOS) | 1.750 |
| Sutjeksa (MON) | 4.000 | Folgore (SMA) | 1.500 ✔ |
| B36 Torshavn (FAR) | 3.750 ✔ | Coleraine (NIR) | 1.250 |
| Tre Penne (SMA) | 2.250 ✔ | Barry Town Utd (WAL) | 1.000 ✔ |
| NSI Runavik (FAR) | 2.250 ✔ | Iskra (MON) | 0.875 |
| HB Torshavn (FAR) | 2.000 ✔ | Ballkani (KOS) or Gjilani (KOS) | 0.800 |
(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)
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