Valletta drawn with Tre Fiori of San Marino

Valletta were drawn with the champions of San Marino, SP Tre Fiori in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. The first leg will be held in San Marino on July 28/29 while the second leg will be held at the Hibernians Stadium on July 5/6.

The draws were held at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon on Monday.

The winner of this first qualifying round clash would meet FK Ekranas of Lithuania in the second qualifying round. The first leg would be held at home on July 12/13 and the second would be held in Lithuania on July 19/20.

Società Polisportiva Tre Fiori are based in Fiorentino, San Marino. The club, formed in 1949, won seven championships and six national cups, making them one of the most successful clubs in the history of football in San Marino.

Although, the club have not been successful in European competition, Tre Fiori currently hold the record for most goals scored in European competition by a Sammarinese team; three goals, all scored in the UEFA Champions League.

The club was most successful during the 1990s when they won three Sammarinese championships and two Trofeo Federale titles. The club first won Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio in 1988 and took their latest title in 2011.

This will be their third participation in UEFA competitions. In 2009, they were eliminated from the first qualifying round by Sant Julià of Andorra on penalties following two 1-1 draws. Last year, they lost 0-3 at home to Rudar Pljevlja and 4-1 away from home in the UEFA Champions League first qualifiying round.

Last season, they finished on top of Girone B of the Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio with 39 points, two ahead of Libertas. In the play-offs, they defeated Penna Rossa and Cosmos, beating Tre Penne 1-0 in the final game.

Futbolo Klubas Ekranas come from the town of Panev?žys in Lithuania.

The club was founded in 1964 and won Lithuanian championships in 1985, 1993, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the Lithuanian Cup in 1985, 1998, 2000, 2010 and 2011 and the Lithuanian Super Cup in 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2011. In August 2006, FK Ekranas won the first Baltic Champion’s Cup tournament in Liep?ja after beating Estonian champions TVMK Tallinn 6–4 and drawing with the home side Liep?jas Metalurgs 1–1.

This would be their second visit to Malta as they met Floriana in the Champions Cup in 1993. The Greens moved on to the next round after beating them 1-0 both at Ta’ Qali and in Lithuania. That was Ekranas’ first ever participation in UEFA competitions.

Since then they managed to reach a further round in a UEFA competition on three occasions. In 2004, they eliminated F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg from the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup with a 3-1 aggregate score. In 2006, they eliminated KS Elbasani of Albania, losing 1-0 in Albania but winning 3-0 at home and in 2007, they defeated B36 Torshavn of the Faroe Islands with a 6-3 aggregate score in the UEFA Cup.

Ekranas currently lead the way in the A Lyga with 36 points from 14 matches, four points ahead of S?duva. Last year, they won the title with 63 points, seven ahead of the same S?duva. They also won the Lithuanian Cup beating Banga 4-2 after extra-time.

First qualifying round draw (28/29 June and 5/6 July)
SP Tre Fiori (SMN) v Valletta FC (MLT)
FC Santa Coloma (AND) v F91 Dudelange (LUX)

Second qualifying round draw (12/13 and 19/20 July)
Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) v FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH)
FK Mogren (MNE) v PFC Litex Lovech (BUL)
NK Maribor (SVN) v FC Santa Coloma (AND) or F91 Dudelange (LUX)
KS Skënderbeu (ALB) v APOEL FC (CYP)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) v FC Tobol Kostanay (KAZ)
SK Sturm Graz (AUT) v Videoton FC (HUN)
FC Zestafoni (GEO) v FC Dacia Chisinau (MDA)
NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Neftçi PFK (AZE)
FC Pyunik (ARM) v FC Viktoria Plze? (CZE)
FK Partizan (SRB) v FK Skendija 79 (MKD)
SP Tre Fiori (SMN) or Valletta FC (MLT) v FK Ekranas (LTU)
Malmö FF (SWE) v HB Tórshavn (FRO)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL) v FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
Rosenborg BK (NOR) v Breidablik (ISL)
HJK Helsinki (FIN) v Bangor City FC (WAL)
Skonto FC (LVA) v Wis?a Kraków (POL)
Linfield FC (NIR) v FC BATE Borisov (BLR)