Who Connah’s Quay could face in Conference League qualifying including Damien Duff’s Shelbourne
Connah's Quay qualified for the UEFA Conference League after finishing second in the Cymru Premier and winning the Welsh Cup. (Pic By Ashley Crowden/FAW)
In a matter of days, Connah’s Quay will know their first opponents in this season’s UEFA Conference League.
Olympiacos became the third team to win this new European competition, which enters its fourth year in July.
The final this season will be held in the Polish city of Wrocław and the journey begins with the draw for the first qualifying round on June 18th.
The Nomads will enter the competition as a seeded team and will avoid some of the bigger sides in this section, but there are still a lot of experienced teams who they could face up against.
Connah’s Quay potential UEFA Conference League opponents
Velež Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
The highest-ranked unseeded side in the Conference League this year are Bosnian side Velež Mostar.
Situated in Bosnia’s fifth largest city, the club, nicknamed The Born, finished the season in third place behind champions Borac Banja Luka, and city rivals Zrinjski Mostar. Velež have only won the league twice, with their most recent success coming in 2019. They also have only one Bosnian Cup win to their name, which happened in 2022.
The playing squad, as you would assume, is made up of mainly Bosnian players, but like many clubs in the region, there is a smattering of foreign talent involved. Defender Aref Gholami is an Iranian international, Klemen Šturm came through the age group teams with Slovenia, while Brazilian midfielder Elzio Lohan has bounced around Brazil’s topflight.
The vast majority of Velež’s European history took place between the 1960s and 1980s, where they played the likes of Spartak Moscow and Borussia Dortmund. They returned to the European scene in 2021, where they got knocked out of the Conference League third qualifying round by Swedish side Elfsborg. Their last venture came in 2022 but were knocked out instantly by Ħamrun Spartans of Malta.
Floriana (Malta)
You might be surprised to know that the team with perhaps the most European pedigree in this unseeded side of the draw is Malta’s Floriana.
Let’s start by looking at their domestic form. The Tal-Irish finished five points behind league winners Ħamrun Spartans last season. If you look at it from a historical point of view, Floriana know how to win. They’ve won the most league titles (26) and the second-highest number of Maltese Cups (21).
Now, back to their European record. For 30 years, Floriana routinely qualified for either the European Cup or the European Cup Winners’ Cup and played some of Europe’s best. Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon and Inter Milan have all been to the small island. Needless to say, they’ve never beaten these teams.
There is even a game against a Welsh team dotted in their vast history. In 1999, Floriana were drawn against Aberystwyth Town in the Intertoto Cup, and they came away with a 4-3 aggregate win.
Four years ago, Floriana got close to a European group stage but were eliminated at the third qualifying stage of the Europa League by Estonian side Flora. Last year, they got knocked out of the Conference League first qualifying round by Petrocub of Moldova.
VPS (Finland)
Last season saw Connah’s Quay face off against an Icelandic side, and another Nordic team that the Nomads could play might be VPS of Finland.
Situated on the west coast in the city of Vaasa, VPS finished third in the regular season of the Veikkauliiga, and qualified for Europe by winning in the playoffs, defeating Honka in the final. Like many leagues in Scandinavia, Finland play theirs in the summer, and after ten games, VPS sit second in the table but are level on points with KuPS.
The squad is made up of mainly Finnish players, but there is some African talent in their squad too. Midfielder Peter Eletu spent his youth career in Germany, Ghanaian Prosper Ahiabu made is playing in his first season of European football, while defender Pedro Justiniano has spent time at both Juventus and Porto.
This will be VPS’ first venture into Europe in seven years. When they last appeared in continental competition, it was back in 2017 and in the Europa League. Having beaten Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubliana in the first round, they were knocked out in the next by Brondby.
Bruno’s Magpies (Gibraltar)
A side who have an interesting story heading into the first qualifying round are Bruno’s Magpies.
Based in Gibraltar, the Magpies were formed eleven years ago, but don’t have a rich history of winning trophies. They’ve won the Rock Cup (Gibraltar’s equivalent of the Welsh Cup) once and have won the Gibraltarian Super Cup once. Last season they finished third in the league behind winners Lincoln Red Imps and St. Joseph’s.
The squad itself is also an interesting one. Gibraltar internationals Kyle Casciaro and Joseph Chipolina are both in their late 30s, but still play a key role in the team, while midfielder José Galán started his career at Atletico Madrid. Stranger still, they have a Welshman in their ranks! Defender Ash Taylor played games for Wales’ U19 and U21 teams, and also had a stint on loan at Colwyn Bay.
When it comes to European games, Bruno’s Magpies history is very short. They only qualified for Europe for the first time two years ago and qualified once again last year. On each occasion, they reached the first qualifying round of the Conference League but were knocked out instantly, firstly by Crusaders of Northern Ireland, and then by Dundalk of the Republic of Ireland.
All possible opponents Connah’s Quay Nomads could face
Velež Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Torpedo-BelAZ (Belarus), Floriana (Malta), Valur (Iceland), Bravo (Slovenia), Atlètic d’Escaldes (Andorra), Torpedo Kutaisi (Georgia), Víkingur (Faroe Islands), Stjarnan (Iceland), Malisheva (Kosovo), Akotbe (Kazakhstan), VPS (Finland), Shelbourne (Republic of Ireland), Auda (Latvia), Noah (Armenia), Bruno’s Magpies (Gibraltar), UNA Strassen (Luxembourg), Šiauliai (Lithuania), Marsaxlokk (Malta), Tallinna Kalev (Estonia), Isloch Minsk (Belarus), Tikvesh (North Macedonia), Mornar Bar (Montenegro)
