Fahad Bayo and Timothy Awany are in line to become the first ever Ugandan players to play in the Europa Conference League.
The Uganda Cranes duo plays for Israel’s Ashdod FC which will face Azerbaijan side Qarabag Agdam FK in the first leg of the second round of qualification.
The game will be played tonight (Thursday) at 1900hrs at the Azersun Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan.
חוזרים הערב לאירופה אחרי היעדרות ממושכת 🙃 pic.twitter.com/ZBjETtWROV
— FC Ashdod – מועדון ספורט אשדוד (@FCASHDOD) July 22, 2021
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However both players are struggling for match fitness lately. Bayo was brought off in the 29th minute in Ashdod’s 2-1 defeat to Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Toto Cup last week. Awany was not part of the match day squad.
Bayo and Awany played an integral role in Ashdod’s impressive campaign last season that saw the club finished third on the table behind Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
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The former Vipers striker scored six goals in the 23 games he played in the league while Awany was limited to only 20 appearances due to injury.
Ashdod and Qarabag will meet in the second leg next week on Thursday with the aggregate winner qualifying to the third qualification round.
The eventual winner of the tie will face either AEL Limassol of Cyprus or Albania’s KF Vllaznia.
The Europa Conference League is the newly established third tier or UEFA’s club competition. Qualification for the tournament’s group stages involves four rounds; the first, second, third and play off round.
