Credit: FC Differdange 03
On Tuesday 17 June 2025, Luxembourg football champions FC Differdange 03 learned their opponent for the first qualifying round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League.
The draw, held at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, determined that Differdange will play against Kosovan champions FC Drita (Gjilan).
The first leg is scheduled to be played away on Tuesday 8 or Wednesday 9 July 2025, with the return leg set for Tuesday 15 or Wednesday 16 July 2025 at home. Match dates and kick-off times are expected to be confirmed by Friday 20 June 2025.
FC Differdange 03 also won the Luxembourg Cup in the 2024/25 season. Following this domestic double, 48-year-old head coach Pedro Resende left the club. The new head coach is 33-year-old Pedro Silva, who joined from FC Alverca (Portugal), where he had been in charge of the U19 team for the past two seasons.
Guillaume Trani, current BGL Ligue Player of the Year (Dribble d’Or), has also left the club. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder scored eighteen goals and provided eight assists during the 2024/25 season. He has decided to take on a new challenge in France’s Ligue 2 with Red Star Paris.
In last season’s European campaign, FC Differdange 03 were eliminated in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, losing 0-2 on aggregate to Icelandic side Klaksvik. The team followed up with a second qualifying round appearance in the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they lost on penalties to Kazakhstan’s Ordabasy.
(Pedro Silva, FC Differdange 03 head coach; Photo credit: Differdange)
