DAC to the future

Cliftonville will face DAC in the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.

This afternoon’s draw at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon pitted the Reds with the Slovakian side, who finished fourth in last season’s Fortuna Liga before seeing off Tatran and Trencin in the Play-Offs.

FC DAC 1904 Dunaszerdahelyi labdarúgó klub – thankfully otherwise known as DAC – play at the 12,700-capacity MOL Arena in Dunajska Streda and will be competing in Europe for the fifth consecutive season.

The upcoming contests will represent the Reds’ second meeting with Slovakian opposition, following on from an infamous 13-1 aggregate defeat to FC Kosice in the 1998/99 Champions League and, while DAC have never faced a side from the island of Ireland, the Clubs do share some minor continental history having both tackled Aalborg on the UEFA stage; Cliftonville losing 4-0 in the 1996 InterToto Cup, two years after the Danes had beaten DAC 3-1 in the same competition.

The first leg of next month’s tie is scheduled for Thursday, July 7 with the return game taking place on July 14 and, while all arrangements remain subject to change, supporters are urged against making any travel arrangements whatsoever until both fixtures have been officially confirmed by the Club.

Cliftonville Chairman Paul McKeown and Chief Operating Officer David Begley were present at today’s draw in Switzerland and will communicate details of the tie when they have been ratified with both UEFA and our counterparts at DAC.