Hibs face UEFA wait for Euro opponents grouping as authorities confirm Conference League draw timetable
Back-to-back European football for first time in 50 years - but a tough route to league stage
Hibs won’t get any further clues over their potential UEFA Conference League opponents until the morning of the draw, as European football’s governing body hold off on allocating ‘groups’ until just a few hours ahead of the ceremony in Switzerland. David Gray’s men, who finished fifth in the Scottish Premiership, will be seeded in the second qualifying round of the competition after Celtic’s Scottish Cup win delivered a late-season European windfall.
SPFL rivals Motherwell, who finished fourth after beating Hibs on the final day of the league campaign at Easter Road, will be unseeded as a result of their lesser UEFA coefficient. And that could make a massive difference when the mammoth 86-team draw is made next Wednesday.
Gray’s side – the first Hibs team to secure back-to-back seasons of European football in 50 years - are guaranteed to avoid some of the biggest teams in continental football, including multiple European Cup/Champions League winners Ajax, Danish powerhouse FC Kobenhavn and Portuguese side Sporting Braga, as well as Panathinaikos, Gent and Rapid Vienna. Hibs also find themselves on the same side of the draw as tricky opponents like Paritzan Belgrade, who would love a crack at revenge after last year’s stunning victory for the Scots, and former European Cup winners Steaua Bucharest.
Select seeded sides
| Ajax | Panathinaikos |
| Rapid Vienna | Sporting Braga |
| FC Kobenhavn | Steaua Bucharest |
As things stand, there is a lengthy list of potential opponents – and a few nightmare trips, logistically – lying in wait for the two-legged tie scheduled to take place on July 23 and 30. There are two teams from Azerbaijan, Nefchi and Zira, as well as European regulars Bate Borisov, from Belarus, and Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi.
Security concerns could also come into play, with Israeli and Ukrainan sides in the draw unable to play home fixtures at present. But there are a number of more straightforward possible outcomes, including short trips to Ireland.
Tricky logistics among unseeded teams
| Nefchi (Azerbaijan) | Zira (Azerbaijan) |
| Bate Borisov (Belarus) | Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia) |
It’s normal practice for UEFA to divide the huge number of clubs taking part in the second qualifying round into smaller groups ahead of the draw, which is scheduled to begin at 1 pm UK time. At the same stage of the Europa League last season, Hibs were pitched into a group of potential opponents whittled down to just six teams – including two either/or options involving ties in the previous round.
But it looks unlikely that Hibs fans will be getting an early heads-up on likely destinations, with UEFA informing The Evening News that the final details of the draw won’t be released within 24 hours of the main event, a spokesman explaining: “The draw procedure will be made available by the morning of the draw.”
Looking for another glorious away night
Hibs acquitted themselves well on the European front last season, with an agonising extra-time loss to Danish super-club FC Midtjylland in the Europa League second qualifying round pitching the Edinburgh club into the Conference League. They bounced back from that early set-back with a stunning defeat of Partizan, winning 2-0 in Belgrade and surviving an extraordinary late comeback to go through despite a 3-2 extra-time loss in the second leg at home.
Gray’s men then pushed Polish giants Legia Warsaw all the way in the Conference League play-off, despite losing 2-1 at home in the first leg. They forced the second leg into extra time, with a 3-3 draw ultimately not enough to secure progress.
Starting in the Conference League qualifiers means there will be no safety net for Hibs this time around, with every tie a straight knock-out. Guaranteed to be unseeded in the third qualifying round an play-off, they’ll need to progress through three ties to reach the league/group stages for the first time in history, with some truly formidable opponents – Atalanta, Monaco and Brighton among them – lying in wait further down the line.