The New Saints & Newtown handed Irish trips in Europe
The New Saints will make a short trip across the Irish Sea for their first venture into the Uefa Conference League.
Saints have been drawn against Northern Irish side Glentoran in the first qualifying round f the inaugural competition.
The first leg will take place in Belfast on Thursday, July 8, with Park Hall hosting the return leg seven days later.
Newtown have also been handed a fairly short journey – they will take on Irish outfit Dundalk, the country’s highest-ranked club according to the Uefa coefficient.
The Robins will also play their first leg away, but will then play the second at TNS’s Park Hall – with the dates for those fixtures to be confirmed. And if Newtown can replicate their European heroics of 2015 this summer then it could be worth almost £500,000 to the club.
And despite the move of tier home fixture for the second leg, there is a buzz around the club ahead of the game in early July.
Finance director Barry Gardener said: “For this year we get 100,000 Euros for playing in the round then another 150 for being eliminated, so we will get 250,000 Euros. Then if you get to round two it is an additional 100,000 Euros, plus a 350,000 Euro elimination payment, so it total that works out at about £480,000.
“It will be great for the club but I think what people don’t realise is there is a cost of running this European tour too.
“We will have to charter a plane, hotel costs have gone up, you have to pay tax on the money because it as classed as additional revenue, we have to pay for things like heart screenings and bonuses, so you lose a sizeable chunk off straight away.”
Back in 2015 when the club qualified for Europe and then progressed through the first qualifying round of the Europa League, the money made was put into clearing the club’s historic debts. However, this time Gardner insists the money can be invested back into the club.
“We cleared off the debt last time, but now we can re-invest,” he added. “We have a sinking fund for the pitch, and have a few infrastructure projects we want to do, but nothing major.
“It’ll be good to be able to invest it back into the club.”
