Malta’s Sliema Wanderers and Hibernians were drawn against Bulgarian and Serbian opponents in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.

Sliema are to face Bulgaria’s Litex Lovech with the first match at home, while Hibernians were drawn away to Vojvodina Novi Sad of Serbia.

The matches are to be played on 19 July and 2 August.

Little is known about Vojvodina of Serbia, but it is not the first time they will have played in Malta. In the past, they also took part in some Christmas tournees at the old Gzira Stadium, registering high-score victories against most of the local clubs who played against them.

Litex came to the fore in Bulgaria in the last few years. It was in season 1997/98, immediately after getting back in the Premier League that they broke the reign of the Levski and CSKA, the two major title contenders from Sofia, to win the title.

Litex won the national championship again in the following season and became a major force on the Bulgarian football scene. They acquired many Bulgarian and foreign national team players. The team from Lovech also entered the international scene, and competed in the UEFA Champions League and in the UEFA Cup since then.

Litex is the only Bulgarian club who succeeded to transfer two players in the English Premiership; in addition, the team has transferred players to major teams in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal.