Larne to face Tre Fiori in Champions League qualifier

Irish Premiership champions Larne will face Tre Fiori of San Marino in the Champions League first qualifying round.

The Inver side will be away for the first leg on 7/8 July, with the return leg on 14/15 July, with full fixture details including kick-off times still to be confirmed.

Tre Fiori won the Campionato Sammarinese for a record ninth time last season which was their first title since 2020.

They have played 11 European ties and were beaten 2-0 by Linfield in Europa League qualifying in the 2020-21 season.

Larne clinched a third Gibson Cup in four years last season and reached the league phase of the Uefa Conference League for the first time in the 2024-25 campaign.

If they lose that tie Larne will drop into the third round of the Uefa Conference League.

European play-off winners Linfield will face Estonian side Nomme Kalju in the first round of qualifying for the Uefa Conference League while Glentoran will take on Latvian side RFS.

The first leg of those games are set to take place on Thursday, 9 July and the second leg on Thursday, 16 July.

Kalju, who will be at home for the first leg, finished third in the Estonian top flight and suffered an extra-time 3-2 defeat by St Patrick's Athletic in the second qualifying round of last year's competition.

RFS finished second in the Latvian league and denied Linfield a place in the Conference League in 2022 after they beat the Blues in a penalty shootout.

They also enjoyed a 7-0 aggregate victory over Larne in the first qualifying round of the Champions League in 2023 and provide a stern test for the Glens, who have home advantage for the first leg.

League of Ireland side Derry City will face Bulgaria's CSKA Sofia in the first round of Europa League qualifying.

The Candystripes suffered a 2-1 aggregate defeat the last time the two sides met in the third qualifying round of the same competition in the 2009-2010 season.