The 2024/25 season has come to an end and three of the JD Cymru Premier clubs have qualified for a place in Europe next season.
The New Saints have won the domestic treble for the first time since 2016 securing their spot in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
Pen-y-bont finished in second place for the first time ever, and the Bryntirion boys will represent Wales in Europe for the second time in their history in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Conference League.
Haverfordwest County finished in the top three for the first time in two decades, and after winning the play-offs the Bluebirds have claimed their place in Europe for the second time in three years.
The New Saints, Pen-y-bont and Haverfordwest County will discover their European opponents on 17 June, 2025 with the first legs scheduled between 7-9 July, 2025.
Haverfordwest County
Haverfordwest County have qualified for Europe for the third time in their history after beating Caernarfon Town 3-1 in the play-off final.
Many predicted that Haverfordwest County would struggle after a month’s rest since their last game, but on the contrary, the Bluebirds looked fit and strong as they comfortably saw off Caernarfon Town in front of the season’s biggest crowd of 1,717 at Bridge Meadow.
Haverfordwest County secured their highest league finish in 21 years by claiming 3rd place, mainly down to their impressive defensive record.
Haverfordwest County also won the play-offs at the end of the 2022/23 season by beating Cardiff Met and Newtown on penalties.
Tony Pennock’s team went on to beat Shkëndija (Macedonia) on penalties at Cardiff City Stadium before an extra time defeat against B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands) in the second qualifying round.
Before 2023, Haverfordwest County had only played one European tie and that was in the summer of 2004, losing both legs against Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar from Iceland.
In 2023, Haverfordwest County played their European matches at the Cardiff City Stadium but have announced that they will be playing at Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli for this year’s European campaign.
European record:
Ties: 3 (W1, L2) / Matches: 6 (W1, D1, L4)
Last time: (2023/24) Beat Shkëndija on penalties (1-1 on aggregate) before losing against B36 Torshavn (2-3 on aggregate).
Pen-y-bont
Pen-y-bont have secured the runner-up spot, confirming their highest ever finish in the JD Cymru Premier.
Pen-y-bont have only played in Europe once in the past, and that was in the summer of 2023 after finishing 3rd in the table.
Pen-y-bont played their first ever European match against Santa Coloma from Andorra at Brewery Field and got a draw (1-1) before losing after extra time a week later in the second leg.
Like Haverfordwest County, Pen-y-bont are returning to Europe after a one season break, and after finishing this campaign 13 points clear of 3rd place, Rhys Griffiths will be hoping that his squad can repeat the feat next year and become regular faces on the European stage.
In 2023, Pen-y-bont played their European fixture in front of 1,410 fans at the local Brewery Field Stadium.
European record:
Ties: 1 (W0, L1) / Matches: 2 (D1, L1)
Last time: (2023/24) lost in extra time against Santa Coloma (1-3 on aggregate).
The New Saints
The New Saints have won the championship for the 17th time in their history and for the fourth consecutive season, securing a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
The New Saints are Wales’ most successful club in Europe as the club from Oswestry has played regularly in Europe since 1996.
Last year the Saints managed to get past the qualifying rounds for the first time ever and competed in the UEFA Conference League where they played against the likes of Panathinaikos and Fiorentina.
The Saints are certain to play at least two rounds in Europe again this year, and the club will be determined to repeat their feats and reach the UEFA Conference League once more.
This season, TNS played their qualifying matches at Park Hall, Oswestry before having to move to the bigger New Meadow, Shrewsbury for the league stage of the UEFA Conference League.
European record:
Ties: 50 (W12, L38) / Matches: 92 (W20, D15, L57)
Last time: (2024/25) TNS managed to get past the qualifying rounds for the first time ever and competed in the UEFA Conference League
Possible opponents
On June 17, 2024, the draw will be held for the first qualifying round of the Champions League (The New Saints) and the first qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League (Pen-y-bont and Haverfordwest County).
The New Saints will be in the seeded pot, and therefore likely to be favourites in their tie, while both Pen-y-bont and Haverfordwest County will be in the unseeded pot and will be underdogs on paper.
Champions League
The New Saints will be facing one of the 14 clubs below in the first qualifying round of the Champions League:
Inter Club d’Escaldes (Andorra), Shkëndija (Macedonia), FCI Levadia (Estonia), Dinamo Minsk (Belarus), Hamrun Spartans (Malta), Kairat (Kazakhstan), Milsami Orhei (Moldova), Noah (Armenia), Differdange 03 (Luxembourg), Iberia 1999 (Georgia), Vikingur (Faroe Islands), Shelbourne (Ireland), Egnatia (Albania), Virtus (San Marino)
Of the 14 possible clubs, Shkëndija and FCI Levadia are the only ones who have faced The New Saints in the past.
In only their second ever European tie, The New Saints lost 6-2 over two legs in the first qualifying round of the 2000/01 Champions League against Levadia Tallinn, who have now merged with FCI Tallinn to form the current club.
Bala Town managed to beat Levadia Tallinn in their first ever game in Europe in the summer of 2013, before losing the second leg over in Estonia.
Differdange 03 also have memories of playing against Bala Town at the Belle Vue, where they lost 2-1 against Colin Caton’s crew in the summer of 2015, but won 4-3 on aggregate.
As for Shkëndija, the Saints won 5-4 over the two legs against the Macedonians in the first qualifying round of the 2018/19 Champions League.
Shkëndija have also lost against Haverfordwest County in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League in the summer of 2023, so they will be keen to avoid another trip to Wales.
The Saints will surely want to avoid a difficult trip to Belarus to face Dinamo Minsk, who finished level on points with Craig Harrison’s side in the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League table.
And another club to avoid is Noah (Armenia), as they finished one place above the Saints in the UEFA Conference League table this season.
UEFA Conference League
There will be 26 possible clubs in the pot to face Pen-y-bont and Haverfordwest County, and a number of those are yet to be confirmed with several seasons across Europe still going on.
Irish giants, Shamrock Rovers are the top seeds in this round, a club that finished 10th in the UEFA Conference League table this season and only lost on penalties against Molde in the knock-out phase after beating The New Saints earlier in their campaign.
Vikingur Reykjavik also managed to get past the league stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Congress, finishing 19th in the table before losing 3-2 on aggregate against Panathinaikos.
Vikingur Reykjavik caused quite a shock when they beat The New Saints 2-0 over two legs in the summer of 2022, proving the strength of the Icelandic league.
HJK Helsinki from Finland are another strong club that could face a trip to south Wales over the summer.
HJK have already beaten Connah’s Quay and Bangor City in Europe, including a 10-0 thrashing of Bangor City in the home leg in 2011 (13-0 on aggregate).
Larne (Northern Ireland) and Paide Linnameskond (Estonia) would also be tough opponents as both teams have defeated Bala Town in the last five years.
Petrocub finished bottom of the UEFA Conference League 2024/25 table, but the Moldovan team did beat TNS in the qualifying rounds.
Haverfordwest County and Pen-y-bont will be hoping to draw a team like Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania) who lost 10-1 over two legs against The New Saints in the summer of 2021.
Neither Tony Pennock nor Rhys Griffiths would turn their noses at the opportunity to go to Malta or Gibraltar either to challenge Floriana or St Joseph’s – clubs with plenty of European experience but little success.
And it could be an opportunity for Pen-y-bont to get their own back on Santa Coloma, if the former champions of Andorra were to return to south Wales for the second time in three years.
Whatever happens, it promises to be an exciting summer for three Welsh clubs who have fully deserved their place in Europe after finishing as the top three in the JD Cymru Premier.
