Champions League: Bodo/Glimt, Pafos join Kairat and Union Saint-Gilloise among debutants

Pafos FC of Cyprus and Norway’s Bodo/Glimt will make their Champions League debuts this season after progressing through the qualifying play-offs.

Only founded 11 years ago, Pafos secured a late 1-1 draw on Tuesday with Red Star Belgrade to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Bodo/Glimt also advanced to the league phase with a 6-2 aggregate win over Austrian side Sturm Graz, despite a 2-1 defeat in the second leg.

The duo will join Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, who stunned Celtic on penalties, and Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise in making their first appearances in Europe’s top-tier competition.

Pafos began their continental journey in the second qualifying round on 22 July, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Kyiv en route to the play-offs.

Leading 2-1 from the first leg, Brazilian winger Jaja scored an 89th-minute equaliser in the Limassol return after Mirko Ivanic had put Red Star 1-0 up on the night.

The Cypriot champions, who recently signed 38-year-old former Chelsea and Arsenal defender David Luiz, will become only the third club from the country to play in the Champions League, after Apoel and Anorthosis Famagusta.

Four-time Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt are the first club from the country to reach the competition proper since Rosenborg in the 2007–08 season.

The club, located 200km north of the Arctic Circle and plays at the 8,270-seater Aspmyra Stadion, made headlines last season by reaching the Europa League semi-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual champions Tottenham.

Kairat, who edged past Scottish champions Celtic in a shootout after a goalless draw in both ties, are the second Kazakh side to qualify for the competition after Astana in 2015–16.

The journey to Almaty in central Asia could be one of the most difficult for Kairat’s European opponents and Chelsea made a 3,600-mile trip to the city last season to face Astana on their way to winning the Uefa Conference League.

The draw for the league phase of the Champions League will take place on Thursday in Monaco, with the first matchday scheduled between 16 and 18 September.