Rhyl to face Serbian Champions

Principality Building Society Welsh Premier League Champions, Rhyl face a massive task in the UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round, having been been paired with Serbian Champions, FK Partizan in the draw held in Nyon at lunchtime on Monday.

The chance to pit our wits against a club that has played against the likes of Real Madrid and boasting many Internationals in their squad is another great opportunity to put Rhyl on the map as a football team and as a town.

The Lilliwhites will be at home in the First Leg to be played on either 14th or 15th July, before travelling to Belgrade the following week and playing at the Stadion Partizana, which has a current capacity of 32,887 people.

The former Yugoslav Champions, have won the Serbian League and Cup double for the past two seasons and are likely to prove difficult oponents for the Welsh Premier Champions. They have an impressive history, having been the first club from Eastern Europe to have played in a European Cup Final and more recently played in the 2003/2004 Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League, after eliminating Newcastle United in the final Qualifying Round. They also reached the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in Season 2004/2005.

The clubs rivalry with Red Star Belgrade is legendary, but they seem to have overshadowed them over the past two seasons, when they enjoyed their greatest domestic success since the club was founded in 1945.

Rhyl Chairman Peter Parry and the rest of the board are delighted with the draw and stated "the chance to pit our wits against a club that has played against the likes of Real Madrid and boasting many Internationals in their squad is another great opportunity to put Rhyl on the map as a football team and as a town."

Rhyl are almost certain to hold the home tie at Belle Vue with approximately 1,500-1,600 tickets to go on public sale. The cost of tickets has not yet been decided.