Michael Heselschwerdt, UEFA`s head of Club Competitions, during the draw for the first two qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League 2016/17, at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, 20 June 2016. Photo: EPA
The three teams representing Bulgaria in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League learned their opponents after the draw held in Nyon on Monday.
In the new season of the Europa League, Bulgaria will be represented by the teams which occupied respectively the second, third and fourth place in the country’s top football division, namely Levski, Beroe and Slavia.
Levski will start from the second qualifying round, while Beroe and Slavia will commence their participation from the first round.
In the first qualifying round, which takes place on June 30 and July 7, Beroe will face Radnik Bijeljina from Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Slavia will play Poland’s Zaglebie Lubin.
In both cases, the Bulgarian teams are hosts in the first leg and visitors in the return match.
The two legs of the second qualifying round take place on July 14 and 21.
Levski will face Slovenian Maribor, being visitor in the first leg and host in the return match.
If Beroe proceeds to the second round, the team from Stara Zagora will play with the winner from the encounter between Lithuania’s Atlantas and Finland’s Helsinki.
If Slavia makes it to the second round, the oldest team from the Bulgarian capital will face Partizan.
The draw for the Champions League qualifying rounds also took place on Monday.
Bulgaria‘s reigning football champion Ludogorets will face its Montenegrin counterpart Mladost Podgorica in the second qualifying round.
The team from Razgrad will be host in the first leg which will take place on July 12 or 13 and visitor in the return match a week later.
