Uefa Officials Give Oval The Thumbs Up

UEFA OFFICIALS GIVE OVAL THE THUMBS UP

UEFA delegates visited the Oval yesterday (Monday) and enjoyed the hospitality of Glentoran. The important purpose of their visit was to approve the ground for use in this season’s European competitions. The green light was given and its all systems go!

The delegates commended the club for the improvements that have been made since their last inspection in July 2001. They noted that in the last two years improvements had been made to the dressing rooms, including new showering systems and an extended changing room for match officials.

On the playing side they were pleased to see the new dugouts, goal posts and seating area for visiting spectators. They made special mention of the excellent playing surface and the arrangements made for its future extension, in line with the forthcoming minimum standards that are to be introduced.


www.glentoran.net

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The draw for qualifying rounds one and two of the Champions League will be made this Friday. The way it looks we will face opposition from one of the following teams in Qualifying Round One.

HJK Helsinki Fin (Finald)
Skonto Riga Lat (Latvia)
Omonia Nicosia Cyp (Cyprus)
Bohemians Dublin Irl (Ireland)
Sheriff Tiraspol Mol (Moldova)
Dinamo Tbilisi Geo (Georgia)
Leotar Trebinje Bos (Bosnia)
FBK Kaunas Lit (Lithuania)
KR Reykjavik Isl (Iceland)
Vardar Skopje Mac (Macedonia)

If successful it looks like our next journey will be to one of the following:

Celtic Sco (Scotland)
Anderlecht Bel (Belguim)
Slavia Praha Cze (Czech Republic)
Rosenborg BK Nor (Norway)
Wisla Kraków Pol (Poland)
Dinamo Zagreb Cro (Croatia)
Grazer AK Aut (Austria)
CL2 Ukr (Ukraine)
Partizan Belgrade Srb (Serbia)
CL Den (Denmark)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv Isr (Israel)
CSKA Sofia Bul (Bulgaria)
MTK Budapest Hun (Hungary)
CSKA Moscow Rus (Russia)


www.glentoran.net

Does this mean there's a chance the Glens might face Bohs?

I though UEFA regionalised the draw, and in the past always kept NI and ROI apart in the first round.

Even so - it would be great to have an all-Irish match - it would be a really competitive game!

Yeah there's a 1 in 10 chance we could get them, it would be a cheap trip but I'd prefer a trip to Luxembourg or Malta (or even Wales) than head up to East Belfast

If you do have to visit then use the toilet before you go as there are no facilities for visiting fans. It's a tip, even with the improvements, and I'd advise fans to drink in the city centre and get a taxi to the Hovel.