KI Klaksvik of Faroe Islands – Celtic’s potential Qualifying Round 1 opponents in the 2020/21 Champions League

Celtic’s potential Qualifying Round 1 opponents in the 2020/21 Champions League: KI Klaksvik of Faroe Islands…

Ahead of next Sunday’s draw for the first qualifying round of the Champions League, I’m reviewing the 17 potential opponents who lie ahead for Celtic.

With all but one of the possible options now known, we’ve already covered the first eight:

Floriana of Malta

FK Sileks of North Macedonia

KF Tirana of Albania

KR Reykjavik of Iceland

Kuopion Palloseura of Finland

Ararat-Armenia of Armenia

NK Celje of Slovenia

Europa FC of Gibraltar

9/17: KI Klaksvik of Faroe Islands

Klaksvikar Itrotterfelag will represent the Faroe Islands in the 2020/21 Champions League. Like Europa FC of Gibraltar, they have a UEFA co-efficient of 2.750, compared to Celtic’s 34.

 

Founded

KI’s 116th anniversary will be later this month, having been founded on 24 August 1904.

Colours

 

Home kit consists of blue jerseys and socks with white shorts, whilst the players sport an all-white outfit on the road.

Stadium

The club’s home ground is the Vid Djupumyrar in Klaksvik, which is located on the island of Bordoy and is the second largest town on the North Atlantic archipelago 200 miles off the north west coast of Scotland. The stadium has a capacity of 2,600, 530 of which are seated. Most of KI’s previous European ties though have been played in Toftir or the capital, Torshavn.

Season 2019/20

As the Faroese domestic season runs from March until October, qualification for the 2020/21 Champions League is based on the 2019 campaign, in which KI finished three points ahead of B36 Torshavn to win the 10-team Faroe Islands Premier League.

Domestic record

KI won the first top-tier Faroese title back in 1942 and has won 18 national titles in total. Prior to last season’s triumph, they had waited 20 years to regain their crown, 1999 being a double-winning year for the club.

European record

The club has competed in all three major European competitions, having won three of their 13 ties. KI’s debut was in the preliminary round of the 1992/93 Champions League, making them one of the first teams to play in the new format. They lost 3-1 to Skonto Riga in Toftir before going down to a 3-0 defeat in the second leg in Latvia.

Three years later, KI competed in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, suffering a 4-0 defeat away to Maccabi Haifa before gaining a first continental victory by beating the Israelis 3-2 in Toftir, thanks to a hat-trick from Danielsen, who had also scored KI’s only goal against Skonto Riga.

In the 1997/98 UEFA Cup, KI suffered a 6-0 first leg defeat in Budapest to Ujpest, clawing back some self-respect in the return in Klaksvik, leading 2-1 before two late Hungarian goals saw the visitors edge a five-goal thriller. And they shipped another nine goals at the same stage of the same competition two years later, this time failing to score against Austria’s Grazer AK.

KI’s last appearance in the Champions League took place in the first qualifying round of the 2000/01 tournament, the Faroese losing 3-0 to Red Star in Toftir then 2-0 in Belgrade.

Their best performance thus far came in the qualifying round for the 2002/03 UEFA Cup, as old foes Ujpest scraped through after a 1-0 win in Budapest, the sides having drawn 2-2 in the Faroe Islands. Norwegians Molde then eliminated KI by 6-0 at the same stage of the UEFA Cup the following season.

A 14-year absence from continental competition followed before KI returned in the 2017/18 Europa League. A goalless draw with AIK in Torshavn was followed by a hefty 5-0 loss in Solna. However, the last two seasons have seen progress, with KI finally winning some ties.

In the 2018/19 Europa League, a late Pavlovic goal earned KI a 1-1 draw in Malta in the first leg of the preliminary round before they beat Birkirkara 2-1 in Torshavn to claim their first European scalp. They then lost a stoppage-time goal at the same venue to go down 2-1 to Zalgiris, which would prove critical following their creditable 1-1 draw in the Vilnius return.

And in last season’s Europa League, KI won their first two qualifying ties. Tre Fiori from San Marino were beaten convincingly home and away, 5-1 and 4-0, before the Faroese made a return trip to Vilnius, again emerging with a 1-1 draw, this time against Riteriai. A goalless draw in the Toftir second leg was enough to see KI through on the away goals rule. The run would come to an end against Luzern in the next round, a stoppage time goal in the Swiss away leg consigning them to a 1-0 defeat, the scoreline repeated in Toftir for a 2-0 aggregate.

Previous meetings

Celtic and KI have never met in European competition. Indeed, Celtic have never played Faroese opposition.

Current personnel

Most of KI’s current squad are Faroese, however they also include players from Serbia, Denmark, Albania, Norway, Montenegro and Nigeria in their ranks.

KI’s manager is the former Faroe Islands international midfielder, Mikkjal Thomassen.

I hope you enjoyed that look at the ninth of our potential European opponents and their previous record in continental competition.

More to follow soon.

Hail Hail!

Matt Corr

Follow Matt on Twitter @Boola_vogue

About Author

Having retired from his day job Matt Corr can usually be found working as a Tour Guide at Celtic Park, or if there is a Marathon on anywhere in the world from as far away as Tokyo or New York, Matt will be running for the Celtic Foundation. On a European away-day, he's there writing his Diary for The Celtic Star and he's currently completing his first Celtic book with another two planned.

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