STARS ABROAD: Timothy Ouma, Adam Wilson land exciting UEFA Europa/Conference League ties

Timothy 'Babu' Ouma’s IF Elfsborg has been handed juicy ties ahead of their participation in the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League competition for the first time in a decade.

This comes after the Swedish side sneaked into Europe's second-tier club competition on Thursday night, following a nervy 4-2 win on penalties against Norway’s Molde.

Elfsborg carried a 1-0 lead going into the second home leg, but went down 1-0 in regulation, forcing them to go through the hardest way, and marked the first time the team was making it into the group stage (now league phase) since the 2013-2014 season.

And after Friday’s draw, it is now official who Babu and the rest of the squad will be facing, having got into the promised land.

Stars Abroad: Timothy Ouma shines in Sweden as IF Elfsborg secures Europa League spot

In no specific order - given the full fixture lists will be revealed on Saturday - Ouma will have the honour of facing established sides like 1983-1984 champions and Premier League representatives Tottenham Hotspur at home, and travelling to Rome to face Daniele de Rossi’s Roma, who were the runners-up in the 2022-2023 campaign.

Also on his list of ties is a trip to Portugal to face SC Braga, and an iconic away day at the San Mames Stadium where La Liga side Athletic Bilbao will lie in wait.

The other game away from the Boras Arena will be against French side OGC Nice, who finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season, and are famously owned by Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group, which also holds a minority stake at Premier League giants Manchester United, also in this season’s Europa League.

In addition to hosting Ange Postecoglou’s side, Elfsborg will also welcome Turkey’s Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar, and Qarabag, who reached the Round of 16 last season.

The competition, which kicks off on either 25/26 September, offers Ouma a brilliant platform to perform exemplary in midfield this season, and perhaps lure big European sides ahead of the winter transfer window.

As in the UEFA Champions League, all top eight sides will automatically qualify to the Round of 16, whereas teams ranked ninth to 24th will contest for the other eight slots.

Meanwhile, in the UEFA Conference League, Kenyan prodigy Adam Wilson will get a taste of European action when his on-loan side The New Saints participate in the league phase for the first time in history.

In Thursday’s draw, the Welsh side is paired to play against the finalists from the past two editions Fiorentina, Sweden’s Djurgarden, Astana, Irish side Shamrock Rovers, Panathinaikos, and NK Celje of Slovenia.