UEFA Conference League: Who could Caernarfon, Connah’s Quay and Penybont draw?
The UEFA Conference League first and second qualifying round draws are set to take place this week.
Three Welsh clubs will represent Wales in Europe in the third-tier competition this summer: Caernarfon Town, Connah’s Quay Nomads, and Penybont.
Caernarfon qualified by winning the Welsh Cup, while Connah’s Quay secured a European place by finishing second in the Cymru Premier. Penybont booked their spot despite a lengthy winless run, defeating Haverfordwest County in the European Play-Off final.
When is the draw, and how can I watch it?
The draw for the first qualifying round will take place on Tuesday, June 16. A day later, on Wednesday, June 17, the second qualifying round draw will be held, giving the Welsh clubs an indication of who they could face should they progress from their opening ties.
UEFA will stream the draw on their website; a link will be provided here when it is published.
When are the matches?
First qualifying round ties will be played over two legs on Thursday, July 9 and Thursday, July 16.
Penybont will play their European home matches at the Cardiff City Stadium, while Connah’s Quay Nomads will stage their fixtures at Colwyn Bay.
Caernarfon Town have yet to confirm a venue for their home ties, although the club remains optimistic that The Oval will be approved to host their UEFA Conference League matches. UEFA U19 Championship matches are being held in Caernarfon, and so they are pushing for it to be ready.
UEFA Conference League first qualifying round seeded teams
Caernarfon Town’s potential opponents
The Cofis have been assigned ball number 10 in Group 4 for this afternoon’s draw. Their possible opponents are:
St Joseph’s FC (GIB) 🇬🇮
FCI Levadia Tallinn (EST) 🇪🇪
FC Differdange 03 (LUX) 🇱🇺
Víkingur (FRO) 🇫🇴
FC RFS (LVA) 🇱🇻
FC Differdange 03
A dominant force in Luxembourg football, Differdange have won the league title in the country in the last two of three seasons, losing the league title by goal difference last season. The club also has previous experience against Welsh opposition after overcoming The New Saints last season, knocking out Craig Harrison’s side.
RFS (Latvia)
A dominant force in Latvian football in recent seasons, RFS have established itself as a regular participant in UEFA competitions. The side were in the league phase of the Europa League in the 2024/25 season, where they faced the likes of Turkish giants Galatasaray, German side Eintracht Frankfurt and even beat Dutch giants Ajax.
Penybont’s potential opponents
KF Shkendija (North Macedonia)
Linfield (Northern Ireland)
Hamrun Spartans (Malta)
KF Vlaznia (Albania)
La Fiorita 1967 (San Marino)
FC Santa Coloma (Andorra)
One of Andorra’s most successful clubs, FC Santa Coloma are regular participant in UEFA competitions. The club will be familiar to Welsh football followers after eliminating Penybont in the 2023/24 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers and winning 2-0 in the second leg while drawing 1-1 when they came to Wales, with Chris Venables on the scoresheet.
Northern Ireland’s most successful club, Linfield have won 57 league titles and 44 Irish Cups in the country. The Belfast-based side have faced Welsh opposition before when they faced The New Saints. They knocked out TNS in Champions League qualifying in 2022.
Connah’s Quay Nomads potential opponents
FC Ballkani (Kosovo)
Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia)
Paide Linnameeskond (Estonia)
FK Decic (Montenegro)
FK Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Among Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most historic clubs, FK Sarajevo have become a regular challenger for domestic honours and European qualification. They have previous experience against Welsh opposition, having defeated the Nomads in 2020. Cardiff City fans also know that Vincent Tan, the owner of the Bluebirds, was once an owner.
Connah’s Quay lost 1-0 to FC Dinamo Tbilisi in September 2020 in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
The match was goalless until deep into stoppage time, when Dinamo Tbilisi scored a 90+7-minute penalty through Giorgi Gabedava, eliminating Connah’s Quay from the competition.
