Update: Floriana drawn to face Irish side Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Champions League

FC Ararat of Armenia or Latvia’s Riga FC drawn as potential second round opponents

Floriana FC were drawn to face Irish side Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, as the draw of the UEFA club competition was held at the European governing body offices in Nyon, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

Last month, Floriana beat Marsaxlokk in the Malta Premier League Finalissima to be crowned Malta champions for the 27th time in their club history.

Their reward is a place in UEFA’s premier competition, and the Greens, under the charge of coach Daniel Portela, who was reconfirmed for a second successive season, have their work cut out with a tie against Shamrock Rovers.

The Irish side are a familiar face to our football, as the Rovers have been up against a Maltese side twice in their European history.

In 2022, Hibernians faced Shamrock Rovers in the first qualifying round of the Champions League and breezed into the next round with a 3-0 aggregate win.

Last December, Shamrock faced Ħamrun Spartans in their final match of the League Phase of the UEFA Conference League, and they managed to secure a 3-1 win in Dublin.

While the tie will surely be a challenging test for Floriana, the Greens will be aware that they are capable of putting up a fight for a place in the next round.

The newly-crowned Malta champions have preserved the majority of their title-winning squad and have brought in three signings in Brazilian defender Kauna De Paula, winger Robert Muric, and forward Tomas Gudelj, both of Croatia.

Floriana will host the opening leg, scheduled for either July 7 or 8, and then travel to Ireland for the return leg a week later.

Should Floriana overcome Shamrock Rovers in the first qualifying round, they would face the winner of the tie between FC Ararat-Armenia (Armenia) and Riga FC (Latvia) in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.