Official | Lille to play UEFA Champions League preliminary rounds at Valenciennes’ Stade du Hainaut | OneFootball

While Lille OSC’s usual Decathlon Arena will host basketball and handball games during the upcoming Olympics, the club has announced an agreement with Valenciennes to play their UEFA Champions League qualifiers.

With their cruel end of the season, drawing against Nice at home and thus failing to automatically qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, Lille was forced to find another stadium to play their European preliminary rounds. A few years ago, Les Dogues had already moved from their usual stadium to their previous home, the Stadium Nord, which can hold around 18,000 fans. A choice that turned sour as they drew at home against Azeri’s outfit Gabala FK in the UEFA Europa League’s third preliminary round before being beaten one week later away from home. With the intense rivalry with neighbours RC Lens, Lille scouted other opportunities near by.

Their final choice resulted in playing in Valenciennes’ Stade du Hainaut, whose has a capacity of 25,000 and is still used by VAFC, which has just been relegated from Ligue 2 to the third tier following a disastrous campaign. Lille have announced having found an agreement with the city of Valenciennes, who own the stadium, to play their UEFA Champions League’s third qualifying round, which will take place either the 6th or 7th August if the first leg is at home, or one week later if Lille receives for the second leg. Should they qualify for the playoff round, the club has announced that they will only play in Valenciennes if they host the first leg, as their stadium should be ready for the second leg. In addition, Lille will host a friendly game against LaLiga side Celta de Vigo on July 30th in order to get used to the stadium.

GFFN l Grégoire Devaux