Georgian national champion Nike qualifies for UEFA Women's Champions League
Players of FC Nike, the Georgian national champions and one of 62 clubs involved in the UEFA Women's Champions League qualification round. Photo: Georgian Football Federation.
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WFC Nike, champions of Georgia's national women's league, will aim to become the first team from the country to reach the group stage of the UEFA Women's Champions League after qualifying for the most prestigious club tournament.
The draw for the European competition has placed the club, founded only a year ago, in the qualifying stage's Group 3 with Scotland's Hibernian, Cardiff Met of Wales and Pomurje Beltinci of Slovenia.
They will hold fixtures against the three teams between August 7-13, as seven more groups involve a record 62 clubs from 50 countries in the recently launched women's equivalent of the major Champions League.
The #UWCL qualifying round draw in full????
— #UWCL (@UWCL) June 21, 2019
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⚽Matches 7-13 August
⚽Group winners join top 22 seeds in round of 32 pic.twitter.com/fZ6Digw54y
The significance of the Champions League is clear for anyone familiar with football. This competition is the source of dreams [and motivation] for each player."
[The qualification] is a significant event for Nike as the club marks the first anniversary of its founding and we would like to celebrate it with a positive story at the European level," Nino Pasikashvili, a player and manager of the club, told the Georgian Football Federation.
Nike leads the national championship after winning all 10 matches of the first round of the Georgian league and having a three-point advantage over Lanchkhuti.
The qualifying round will be hosted in Slovenia, where Nike will aim to make history for Georgia by qualifying through the stage to reach group round of the tournament.
WFC Martve, the other Georgian club that played in the Champions League, competed in the qualifiers but did not reach the principal round for the two seasons they were part of the competition.