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Football: Five Polish clubs gear up for European campaigns

22.06.2026 00:15
Five Polish football clubs are set to begin their European campaigns next month after learning their first opponents in qualifying for the 2026/2027 Champions League, Europa League and Conference League group stages.
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Poland's improved position in European governing body UEFA's coefficient rankings has earned the country two places in Champions League qualifying this season.

Polish champions Lech Poznań will face Danish titleholders AGF Aarhus in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

Lech, seeded throughout the qualifying campaign, will play the first leg away from home on July 21 or 22 before hosting the return match in Poznań a week later.

Top-flight runners-up and Polish Cup winners Górnik Zabrze enter the competition through the non-champions path. They will take on Turkish giants Fenerbahçe in the second qualifying round. The first leg will be played in Istanbul and the return match in Zabrze.

Should Górnik be eliminated, the club would drop into Europa League qualifying.

In the Europa League, third-placed Jagiellonia Białystok will enter the competition in the third qualifying round and will not learn their opponents until the next draw on July 20.

Potential opponents include several established European clubs, among them Rangers, Benfica and PAOK Salonika.

Two Polish clubs will compete in the UEFA Conference League.

Raków Częstochowa were drawn against Malta's Valletta FC in the second qualifying round.

Raków, who will host the first leg before travelling to Malta for the return fixture, are expected to be among the favourites to advance. Thanks to a strong UEFA coefficient built up in recent seasons, the club is expected to remain seeded throughout the qualifying campaign.

GKS Katowice face a more challenging route in their first European campaign in 23 years. The Polish side will meet the loser of a Europa League first-round qualifying tie between Croatia's Hajduk Split and Slovakia's Žilina. Katowice will play the first leg away before hosting the return match.

The qualifying rounds begin in July, with Polish clubs hoping to secure places in the group stages and continue the country's recent rise in UEFA's rankings.

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Source: IAR, PAP, radiokrakow.pl