Aberdeen off to Santa Claus land, Kilmarnock go to Wales and Rangers face Gibraltar or Kosovo team

The increasing scale and diversity of the Europa League was sharply illustrated by a first qualifying round draw which will see Scotland’s three participants travelling to Lapland, the Welsh coast and possibly Kosovo next month.

Aberdeen's opponents RoPS Rovaniemi share the Keskuskentta Stadium with third-tier club FC Santa Claus.

Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Rangers were all seeded in the draw at Uefa HQ in Nyon, which featured no less than 94 clubs, and each will regard their prospects of clearing the first hurdle as favourable.

For Dons supporters, the away trip of their tie against Finnish club RoPS Rovaniemi will provide them with the added bonus of doing some early Christmas shopping.

Rovaniemi is the administrative capital of Lapland, just four miles south of the Arctic Circle, with RoPS sharing their Keskuskentta Stadium with third-tier club FC Santa Claus. Unsurprisingly, the ground has an artificial playing surface, although the weather should still be relatively benign for Aberdeen’s scheduled visit for the second leg on 18 July.

Derek McInnes’ men should have too much for a RoPS outfit who were runners-up in the Finnish League last year but are currently struggling in the relegation zone during the 2019 campaign which runs from April to October.

They reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, losing to Marseille, on their European debut back in 1987-88 but have never been beyond the second qualifying round on their subsequent appearances. RoPS last played in Europe three seasons ago, beating Shamrock Rovers in the first qualifying round of the Europa League before losing 4-1 on aggregate to Lokomotiva Zagreb in their next tie.

The club have had to work hard to rebuild their reputation after they were embroiled in a match-fixing scandal back in 2011 which saw eight of their players face criminal prosecutions and receive suspended jail sentences.

While Aberdeen undertake their sixth consecutive Europa League campaign, Kilmarnock will make their return to continental competition after an 18-year absence when they face Welsh club Connah’s Quay Nomads.

The first competitive match in charge for new Kilmarnock manager Angelo Alessio, pictured, looks set to take place at the Belle Vue Stadium in Rhyl on 11 July.

Connah’s Quay Nomads have recent experience of facing Scottish opposition, having reached the final of the Irn Bru Challenge Cup last season which they lost to Ross County. Managed by Inverness-born former Manchester City player Andy Morrison, the Flintshire side were runners-up in the Welsh Premier League last season.

They made their European debut just two years ago, enjoying a shock victory over Norwegian side Stabaek. Last season, they lost 5-1 on aggregate to Shaktyor Soligorsk of Belarus in the first qualifying round of the Europa League. But Morrison is bullish about the prospects of his side springing another upset. He said: “We will be going into the game full on and all in. We will have no regrets at the end of the tie, we will give everything we’ve got.

“When we leave Kilmarnock I guarantee they will know they’ve been in a game. We’ve beaten Stabaek and HJK Helsinki in previous European ties, so it’s a game of football we are looking forward to.”

Rangers’ bid to reach the group stage of the tournament for the second year in a row under Steven Gerrard will begin against the winners of the preliminary round tie between Prishtina of Kosovo and St Joseph’s of Gibraltar. The Kosovan club are odds-on favourites to prevail, having last year crushed another team from Gibraltar, Europa FC, 6-1 at the same stage. Prishtina then lost out on penalties to Fola Esch of Luxembourg in the first qualifying round.

They play their home matches at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in the Kosovan capital, a 13,500-capacity venue with a natural grass playing surface which is also host to the national team.

St Joseph’s, who finished third in the Gibraltar Premier League last season, play at the communal Victoria Stadium on the Rock of Gibraltar where Celtic faced Lincoln Red Imps three years ago.

Rangers are scheduled to be away for the first leg of their tie with the return fixture at Ibrox on 
18 July.

All three Scottish clubs will discover their potential opponents if they progress to the second qualifying round when the draw for that stage of the tournament takes place at 1pm on Wednesday in Nyon.