Floriana were handed a favourable draw in the UEFA Conference League as they were paired to face Haverfordwest County, of Wales.

But the same cannot be said for Birkirkara, who will be up against the Armenian side FC Petrocub, who last season featured in the group stages of the UEFA Conference League.

For Floriana, a tie against Welsh side Haverfordwest County provides them with a good opportunity to move past the first hurdle of the UEFA Conference League.

Incidentally, Haverfordwest County had a Maltese connection within their ranks as they had former Gżira United defender Luke Tabone on their books, who have now decided to join English side Southport FC.

The Welsh side do not enjoy a great tradition in European football as in their previous two participations in Europe, they have failed to go further than the second qualifying round.

Haverfordwest County were knocked out in the first qualifying round of the uEFA cup by Iceland’s Hafnarfjordur in 2004, and last season they stunned Macedonian club Shkendija but were then ousted by B36 Torshavn.

 The Welsh club qualified for European football after they placed third in the Welsh championship.

On the other hand, Birkirkara are bracing themselves for a tough tie against the Moldovan side FC Petrocub.

The Moldovan club, which was founded 25 years ago, has improved considerably in European competitions over the years.

Since their first participation in 2018, where they were knocked out in the first qualifying round by Croatian side Osijek, they have made significant inroads in the past two years.

In 2022, Petrocub reached the third qualifying round only to be knocked out by Fehervar but last summer they finally made the breakthrough as they reached the group stages of the UEFA Conference League after losing their Europa League play-off round tie against Ludogorets, of Bulgaria.

In the Conference League, they competed in the league phase, where they faced Pafos, of Cyprus, Poland’s Jagiellonia Bialystok, Rapid Vienna, of Austria, Istanbul Basaksehir, Spain’s Real Betis, and Hearts, of Scotland.

They ended up bottom of the standings, with just two points.

 Both Floriana and Birkirkara were drawn to play the first leg on home soil, and unless UEFA doesn’t opts for a change of fixture, their matches will likely be played on July 15 and 17.