Celtic get N.Irish date for Champions League

Scottish Premier League champions Celtic have been drawn against Northern Ireland’s Cliftonville in the qualifying for the forthcoming Champions League group stage, UEFA announced on Monday.

Neil Lennon’s team, who took part in the competition last year and went out to Italy’s Juventus 5-0 on aggregate in the round of 16, play the part-timers from Belfast in a double-header next month.

Two other teams which also took part in last year’s competition, Russia’s BATE Borisov and Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia take on Skakhter Karagandy of Kazakhstan and Fola Esch of Luxembourg respectively.

The winners of the 16 matches in the second qualifying draw go through to a third qualifying round and a play-off to reach the group stage, which begins on September 17/18.

Next year’s final will take place in Lisbon on May 24.

First qualifying round (matches to be played on July 2/3 and July 9/10):

FC Shirak (ARM) v SP Tre Penne (SMR)

FC Lusitans (AND) v v EB/Streymur (FRO)

Second qualifying round (matches to be played on July 16/17 and July 23/24)

Neftci PFK (AZE) v KS Skenderbeu (ALB)

FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROU) v FK Vardar (MKD)

FC Viktoria Plzen (CZE) v FK Zeljeznicar (BIH)

FC Sheriff (MDA) v FK Sutjeska (MNE)

Birkirkara FC (MLT) v NK Maribor (SVN)

Sligo Rovers FC (IRL) v Molde FK (NOR)

IF Elfsborg (SWE) v FC Daugava Daugavpils (LVA)

HJK Helsinki (FIN) v JK Nomme Kalju (EST)

FK Ekranas (LTU) v FH Hafnarfjördur (ISL)

The New Saints FC (WAL) v Legia Warszawa (POL)

Celtic FC (SCO) v Cliftonville FC (NIR)

GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v CS Fola Esch (LUX)

Gyori ETO FC (HUN) v Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

FC BATE Borisov (BLR) v FC Shakhter Karagandy (KAZ)

FC Shirak (ARM) or SP Tre Penne (SMR) v FK Partizan (SRB)

SK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) v PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL)

FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v FC Lusitans (AND) or EB/Streymur (FRO)