Celtic will discover their Champions League play-off opponents next week, with the draw set for Monday, August 4. [UEFA]
The ties themselves will be played across two legs later that month – on August 19/20 and 26/27 – as the Scottish champions aim to reach the league stage of Europe’s premier club competition.
The draw will be live-streamed on UEFA’s website.
Despite winning the league, Brendan Rodgers’ side must navigate one final qualifying hurdle due to Scotland’s coefficient ranking. Fortunately, thanks to Celtic’s strong UEFA ranking, they will be seeded for the draw, avoiding several dangerous names.
That seeding status means they won’t face the likes of FC Copenhagen, Red Star Belgrade, Bodo/Glimt or Ferencvaros.
However, the potential opponents remain daunting. Swiss champions Basel are already confirmed as unseeded and would represent a stiff test. Sturm Graz are another possibility, with the Austrian outfit enjoying domestic and European growth over the past few seasons.
Three further possible opponents are still to be determined as the qualifying rounds unfold, with results from this week and the next set to finalise the lineup.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. A place in the lucrative Champions League group stage hangs in the balance, with the final itself scheduled for May 30, 2026, at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest. For Celtic, that journey begins with a crucial draw next week.
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I can see a scenario on the horizon where we fail to qualify for the CL, but a certain other team on the other side of Glasgow works their way to qualification through more qualifying ties than us.
If that happens, I wonder what our miserable shambles of a board will do?
There is nobody of note on that board, either intellectually or humanly. None of them have any class. All I see is selfishness, greed and hypocrisy! They are low-balling another club for a player just now, whilst refusing to let a player leave for what they consider a low ball offer. Complete HYPOCRISY. The don’t seem to understand the process of negotiation.
How they treat people is another gripe! Marco Tilio has agreed his move from Celtic with another club, who are now looking at another player because of Celtic’s poor treatment of this move. It is not Tilio’s fault or the club that want’s him that Celtic are short of wide-men. It is the fault of a mean minded board at Celtic.
We need to hit the board hard by refusing to purchase all official merchandise. I am sure all fans have already plenty of gear they can wear. Sometimes you have to be firm in order to bring about an action. So we need to withdraw the cash cow and put pressure on the board to stop treating us all like nobodies. Only once they realise we can do this might we see some change in their attitude., instead of their continual posturing.
Treat others the way you would be treated yourselves.
As Jock said “Football is nothing without the fans.”
At the moment, I do not properly recognise this club I have supported since 1960, a stretch of 65 years.