Rangers face Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise – owned by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom – in Champions League third qualifying round with the Gers aiming to reach the group stage for the first time in 12 YEARS
- Rangers face Union Saint-Gilloise in their opening Champions League qualifier
- The first leg tie is due to be played on August 2-3, with the return leg on Aug 9
- Gers are due to be away from home in the first leg of the third qualifying round
- The winners will then progress to the play-off stage of the competition
- Rangers, who finished as Europa League runners-up last season, haven’t reached the group stages of the Champions League since 2010-11 season
Rangers will take on Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise in their opening Champions League qualifier.
The Europa League runners-up are due to be away from home in the first leg of the third qualifying round on August 2-3, with the second leg set to take place on August 9. The winners will progress to the play-off stage of the competition.
Rangers, who were dumped out of the Champions League at the same stage last season, have not reached the group stages of the competition since the 2010-11 campaign, where they finished third in a group with Manchester United, Bursaspor and Valencia.
Rangers face Union Saint-Gilloise in their opening Champions League qualifier in August
The Gers will face USG (in yellow) over two legs in August for a place in the play-off stage
Union, who are owned by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom, finished runners-up in the Belgian league last season behind Club Brugge, but they topped the table after the regular season of 34 matches before points were halved ahead of six-match play-offs.
They had only returned to the top flight in 2021 following a 48-year absence.
Union won the most recent of their 11 Belgian titles in 1935 and play in a 9,400-capacity stadium, the Stade Joseph Marien, in Brussels.
They rounded off their pre-season programme with a 4-0 victory at Feyenoord on Saturday and kick off their domestic season this weekend.
In the champions path, Linfield will take on Zalgiris of Lithuania or Malmo if they get past Bodo/Glimt in the second round.
Shamrock Rovers will face Dinamo Zagreb or Shkupi of North Macedonia if they can get past Bulgarian champions Ludogorets.
Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise are owned by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom (pictured)
Rangers haven’t reached the group stages of the Champions League since the 2010-11 season
