Park Avenue to Host Champions League Football in July

Park Avenue to Host Champions League Football in July

Aberystwyth Town FC are delighted to announce that Park Avenue will host Connah’s Quay Nomads’ UEFA Champions League First Round Qualifier, as well as a subsequent Second Round Qualifier in either the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa Conference League, in July 2021.

Following a site visit in May 2021 by UEFA Stadium Inspector Scott Struthers from Hamilton Academical in Scotland, Park Avenue was designated as a UEFA Category 2 Stadium, pending some infrastructure upgrades, most notably the instillation of 400 seats between the Dias Stand and the Gantry, and this work will commence immediately.

Only two Cymru Premier grounds are designated as Category 2, Park Avenue and TNS’s ground Park Hall, and a major stumbling block to the status was overcome when Aber Town’s 3G pitch was awarded FIFA Quality Pro status in September 2020.

Club Secretary Thomas Crockett said: “We are delighted and honoured to offer Park Avenue to our friends at Connah’s Quay for their first two European matches this season. Hosting Champions League football in particular is a major coup for the Club, and this in itself will fund ground improvements which will ensure Park Avenue can host European matches for years to come. We extend our thanks to Scott Struthers and to Andrew Howard and Steve Jones from the FAW, who have been very supportive of our efforts to upgrade Park Avenue Stadium to the required standard”.

The matches will be played on two midweek dates in July, to be decided by the draw which will be streamed live on uefa.com next Tuesday 15th June at 11am.

Potential visitors to the Ceredigion Coast include European powerhouses Dinamo Zagreb from Croatia, Ludogorets Razgrad from Bulgaria and Polish Champions Legia Warsaw. Please see the full list of participating Clubs below, courtesy of Bert Kassies’ European football website here: https://kassiesa.net/uefa/.
 
CL-Q1: 1st Qualifying Round for Champions (32 clubs)
Seeded clubs                   coef.             Unseeded clubs                 coef.
------------------------ --- ----------------    ------------------------ --- -------------
Dinamo Zagreb            Cro  44.500             Riga FC                  Lat   5.500
Ludogorets Razgrad       Bul  28.000             HJK Helsinki             Fin   5.500
Malmö FF                 Swe  18.500             Linfield Belfast         Nir   5.250
CFR Cluj                 Rom  16.500             CS Fola Esch             Lux   5.250
Legia Warsaw             Pol  16.500             Shakhtior Saligorsk      Bls   5.250
Sheriff Tiraspol         Mol  14.500             Neftchi Baku             Azb   5.000
Ferencváros              Hun  13.500             Maccabi Haifa            Isr   4.875
Shkendija Tetovo         Mac   9.000             Shamrock Rovers          Irl   4.750
Slovan Bratislava        Svk   7.500             Connah's Quay            Wal   4.750
Dinamo Tbilisi           Geo   6.500             Valur Reykjavik          Isl   4.250
Zalgiris Vilnius         Lit   6.500             Bodø/Glimt               Nor   4.200
Alashkert FC             Arm   6.500             Mura Murska Sobota       Slo   3.000
Flora Tallinn            Est   6.250             Teuta Durrës             Alb   2.750
Buducnost Podgorica      Mon   6.000             CL-PR *p                       2.250
Kairat Almaty            Kaz   6.000             FK Borac Banja Luka      Bos   1.600
Lincoln Red Imps         Gib   5.750             Hamrun Spartans          Mlt   1.275
 
CL-Q2: 2nd Qualifying Round for Champions (20 clubs)
Seeded clubs                   coef.             Unseeded clubs                 coef.
------------------------ --- ----------------    ------------------------ --- -------------
Dinamo Zagreb *          Cro  44.500             Shkendija Tetovo *       Mac   9.000
Olympiakos Piraeus       Gre  43.000             Slovan Bratislava *      Svk   7.500
Young Boys               Sui  35.000             Dinamo Tbilisi *         Geo   6.500
Red Star Belgrade        Srb  32.500             Zalgiris Vilnius *       Lit   6.500
Ludogorets Razgrad *     Bul  28.000             Alashkert FC *           Arm   6.500
Malmö FF *               Swe  18.500             Flora Tallinn *          Est   6.250
CFR Cluj *               Rom  16.500             Buducnost Podgorica *    Mon   6.000
Legia Warsaw *           Pol  16.500             Kairat Almaty *          Kaz   6.000
Sheriff Tiraspol *       Mol  14.500             Lincoln Red Imps *       Gib   5.750
Ferencváros *            Hun  13.500             Omonia Nicosia           Cyp   5.550

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