“If you can dream it, you can do it”And so it was for the boys of Vikingur Reykjavik, an Icelandic football club, and for those of The New Saints FC, Welsh team. Both, for the first time in their history and in the history of their respective countries, have secured their place in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage 24-25. Both also had a chance to reach the group stages in the UEFA Champions League, with excellent performances, but had to settle for preliminaries or play-offs. The result they have now achieved is not only sporting, but fully involves the communities that Vikingur and New Saints represent and that intensely live the passion for the colours of their clubs.

Vikingur: history and solidarity

Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur: this is the full name of one of the oldest sports clubs in Iceland. Founded in 1908, it is based in the Fossvogur district of Reykjavík. Over the years, in addition to football, it has created sections dedicated to tennis, ping-pong, karate, skiing, and especially handball, where it is the most successful club both in the women’s and men’s categories. Seven Icelandic Championships, five Icelandic Cups, and four Icelandic Super Cups stand out in the club’s record book. In the Vikingur philosophy, teaching sports and its values takes pride of place, as does the concept of community and solidarity. Despite the icy wind blowing in the streets of Reykjavík, the heart of Vikingur is particularly warm and has shown it on several occasions, such as last year when the club asked Macron to create a ‘Charity Shirt’, designed by local artist Hildur Yeoman, whose sale enabled the collection of 3 million Icelandic kronas to be donated to a rehabilitation and support center for people with cancer and their relatives. An important gesture that binds a community, which is now all focused on pushing its favorites into the UEFA Europa Conference League adventure.

The New Saints: a bit of Wales and a bit of England

The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club is known to everyone as The New Saints FC. They are good at naming things in Wales (Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, is an English city located on Anglesey, Wales., But this time the English also contributed, as the club represents two cities: the Welsh town of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain and the English town of Oswestry. The New Saints are in fact affiliated to the Welsh Football Association, but they play their home games 8.5 km beyond the border, in Oswestry in England: a wonderful spot against the chauvinism of football fans. The history of this club goes back a long way and for a long time it was divided between the history of Oswestry Town and that of Llansantffraid, but with the merger of the two clubs came many successes: sixteen titles as the Welsh Champions, including the last three editions, always bear the signature of The Saints. To these trophies are added nine Welsh Cups, ten Welsh League Cups and one FAW Premier Cup. The club's crest features both the Welsh dragon and the English lion: the fire of one and the strength of the other will surely be crucial for the new exciting adventure in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

UEFA Europa Conference League: two different paths, the same goal

Access to the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage was a bit different for the two clubs. The Icelanders were included in the qualifying rounds from the start, while the Welshmen reached the playoffs from the UEFA Champions League qualifying matches. Vikingur eliminated, in order, the Latvian team of Liepaja (1-1 and 2-0), the Albanian team of Egnatia (0-1 and 2-0), the Estonian team of Flora Tallinn (1-1 and 2-1), and finally UE Santa Coloma, an Andorra club, which was overwhelmed in the first leg with 5-0 and 0-0 in the return. The The New Saints FC, on the other hand, played only one playoff match as it came from the Champions League, from which it was eliminated after a victory and a draw with the Macedonians of Decic and a double defeat with Ferencvaros (a Macron derby)) by 5-0 and 2-1. The Saints in the playoffs faced the Lithuanians from Panevėžys, who settled the first leg with a clear 3-0 and the return match with a 0-0 draw.