Derry City's UEFA Europa League qualifier date confirmed

UEFA confirmed the news at a meeting of its executive committee via video conference where the governing body took several decisions regarding its various club and national competitions.

The Candy Stripes alongside the League of Ireland's three other European qualified teams Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians, will all be involved in one-off qualifiers as it was confirmed the access list for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League have not been affected by the new calendar.

The FAI have until August 3rd to confirm its representatives for the respective European competitions and the venue for each, one-off qualifier will be decided by the draw. All four clubs received UEFA licences this week.

The draws for both competitions will take place the week before the games and uropean football's governing body has confirmed that sides drawn out first in the qualifiers will have home advantage.

UEFA's statement on the 2020/21 Champions League and Europa League qualifiers was as follows:

"In order to achieve the necessary separation with the final phase of the 2019/20 season and avoid impact on the access list and on clubs potentially involved in both competition phases, the qualifying rounds of the two competitions will be played in single legs (instead of home and away), with the only exception of the UEFA Champions League Play-offs which will remain over two legs.

"The draw will determine which club will play the single leg in their stadium. The new calendar of the qualifying phase and group stage 2020/21 is as follows:

"UEFA Champions League 2020/21: Preliminary round: 8 and 11 August; First qualifying round: 18/19 August; Second qualifying round: 25/26 August; Third qualifying round: 15/16 September; Play-offs: 22/23 and 29/30 September; Group stage: 20/21 and 27/28 October, 3/4 and 24/25 November, 1/2 and 8/9 December.

"UEFA Europa League 2020/21: Preliminary round: 20 August; First qualifying round: 27 August; Second qualifying round: 17 September; Third qualifying round: 24 September; Play-offs: 1 October; Group stage: 22 and 29 October, 5 and 26 November, 3 and 10 December.

"There are no changes to the dates of the subsequent rounds.

"The group stage draws for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League will take place in Athens at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre on 1 and 2 October 2020 respectively."

Commenting on the decisions, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, said: "I am delighted that we are able to resume almost all of our competitions.

"I am confident that we will not have to endure the fans’ absence for long and that they will be allowed into stadiums sooner rather than later.

UEFA took a bold decision when it decided to postpone EURO 2020. But in doing so, we created the space which has allowed domestic club competitions across the continent to resume, where possible, and play to a conclusion.

"While the game has suffered huge difficulties as a result of the pandemic, those blows would have landed much harder if we had not shown leadership in those early days.

"The football community has worked together and shown tremendous unity during this unprecedented crisis. I would like to thank FIFA, our sister confederations, national associations, clubs, leagues, players and the relevant authorities for their continuous support and commitment and I am convinced that we come out of this crisis stronger and with closer links than ever before.

"It is of the utmost importance for us not only to complete our men’s and women’s competitions but also to finish our youth and futsal competitions whenever possible.

"We are firm believers of their importance and significance of the overall growth and development of the game, and I am delighted that we found solutions to stage the final rounds of all those competitions.

"Finally, I would like to convey a heartfelt message of appreciation and gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of unsung heroes who worked tirelessly on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is their dedication and bravery that has allowed our societies and football to return so quickly. Without their effort and sacrifices, none of this would have been possible."