Maltese trio Birkirkara, Hibernians and Sliema Wanderers will face teams from Eastern Europe in the first qualifying round of the Europa league.

Birkirkara, Premier League runners-up last season, and Sliema have been paired with Hungarian sides Diosgyori VTK and Ferencvaros while Hibernians face Slovakia’s Spartak Trnava.

Hibs, who finished third in the league last season, and Sliema, who attained a berth in the Europa League after losing to champions Valletta in the U*Bet FA Trophy final, will have home advantage in the first leg, scheduled for July 3, while Birkirkara start their European campaign in Hungary.

The second-leg ties will be played on July 10.

Diosgyori, Birkirkara’s opponents, have gained a berth in the Europa League as beaten finalists of the Hungarian Cup.

They lost to Ujpest on penalties but the latter were handed a UEFA ban due to financial problems.

Diosgyori placed fifth in the Hungarian league last season on 47 points, 10 behind third-placed Ferenc-varos who meet Sliema in the Europa League.

The last time Diosgyori played in Europe was in 1998 when they competed in the Intertoto Cup.

Ferencvaros are led by former Germany international Thomas Doll.

They have been very active in the transfer market with their biggest signing being German forward Benjamin Lauth.

Spartak Trnava, Hibs’ opponents, qualified for the Europa League after finishing third in the Slovakian championship.

The pairings for the second qualifying round were also established yesterday.

The winner of the Birkirkara/Diosgyori game will meet either Moldovan side Chisinau or Bulgarians Litex Lovech in the next round.

Croatian side Rijeka await the winner of the Sliema clash and Georgians Zestafoni will take on either Hibernians or Spartak Trnava in the second qualifying round.

First qualifying round (July 3/10)
Diosgyori (Hungary) vs Birkirkara (Malta)
Sliema Wanderers (Malta) vs Ferencvaros (Hungary)
Hibernians (Malta) vs Spartak Trnava (Slovakia)

Second qualifying round (July 17/24)
Veris Chisinau (Moldova)/Litex Lovech (Bulgaria) vs Birkirkara/Diosgyori
HNK Rijeka (Croatia) vs Sliema/Ferencvaros
Hibernians/S. Trnava vs Zestafoni (Georgia)

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