Harambee Starlets duo of Esse Akida and Cynthia Shilwatso have learned their UEFA Champions League opponents following the round 1 draw staged in Nyon on Friday afternoon.
Akida’s AC PAOK who found themselves in Group 9 will be up against Luxembourg’s Racing FC Union in Round 1 and will be up against SKN Polten in the semi-finals of Round one should they beat Racing.
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Marjolene Nekesa’s Slavia Praha together with Rosengard and AS Roma will be waiting for the winners of Round 1 matchups in a four-knockout mini-tournament of four teams each. The winners will progress to round 2 in which six teams have direct entry. Five group stage places will be on offer in this round.
Shilwatso’s FC Kryvbas automatically enters the competition in round 2 where they have been scheduled to take on French side Paris FC.
Round 1 is one of two rounds before the 16-team group stage, which begins in November. It is split into two paths: the champions’ path and the league path. In both paths, round 1 will consist of two stages, each of one-off knockout matches played in single-venue mini-tournaments: semi-finals on 6 September and finals/third-place play-offs on 9 September.
The winners of each final (11 in champions path, four in league path) will progress to round 2, which will decide the 12 teams joining holders Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern and Chelsea in the group stage.
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