Tough test for title-holders
Friday, June 25, 2004
Article summary
The draw for the first qualifying round of the 2004/05 UEFA Cup was not kind to the champions of San Marino.
Article body
The draw has been made for the first qualifying round of the 2004/05 UEFA Cup.
Fifty in the hat
There were 50 clubs in the hat for this round, divided into three geographical seeding groups - Northern, Southern-Mediterranean and Central-East. Among the first qualifying ties to catch the eye, Swedish side Östers IF's reward for topping the fair play rankings is a tie against Welsh club Total Network Solutions FC.
Fair play route
The two other sides to reach the competition through the fair play route - FC MIKA of Armenia and FC Illychivets Mariupil of Ukraine - will face Hungary's Budapest Honvéd FC and Armenia's FC Banants respectively.
Fate of champions
Andorran champions FC Santa Coloma face FK Modrica of Bosnia-Herzegovina while the other champions in the draw, San Marino's S.S. Pennarossa, face a tricky encounter against another Bosnia-Herzegovnian side in NK Željeznicar.
Further rounds
The 25 winners from the first qualifying round will progress to the second qualifying round, where they will be joined by a further 39 clubs. The 32 survivors of the second qualifying round will progress to the first round proper, where 32 other clubs lie in wait.
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* Matches reversed
** First-leg match to be played on 13 July
*** Second-leg match to be played on 27 July
