BALA Town will face FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein in the first qualifying round of the 2017-18 Europa League after the draw in Nyon, and manager Colin Caton expects a very tough test.

FC Vaduz now play in the second tier Swiss Challenge League, following relegation from the Swiss Super League in 2016–17, but still pose a massive challenge.

The club has a strong history in European competition, having never failed to reach the second qualifying round of the Europa League - and having progressed to the third qualifying round three times in seven years.

Most recently, in 2015-16, they beat SP La Fiorita from San Marino 10-1 on aggregate, before going on to beat Estonian club Nõmme Kalju FC 5-1 over two legs.

In the third qualifying round they were drawn against fellow Swiss Super League club FC Thun, and Vaduz only missed out on progressing to the first round proper on the away goals rule, after being held to a 2-2 draw on aggregate.

Last summer they beat Macedonian side FK Sileks 5-2 over two legs, before losing to FC Midtjylland of Denmark 5-2 on aggregate.

“A lot of people said this was the best draw we could have hoped for, when we were put into seeding pots,” said manager Caton.

“Missing Danish club Midtjylland was something we were quite happy about, and Vaduz had been picked out by those within the club as a team we could do well against, but we didn’t know too much about them.

“That being said, since we’ve drawn them I’ve looked at their results this season and found footage on how they play - and this is a Club that has drawn with FC Basel and beaten Young Boys from Switzerland, which is no mean feat.

“It’s okay people saying they’re from Liechtenstein, but they compete very well in the Swiss League, so this is clearly going to be a very tough game for us.”

The home leg of their tie will take place next Thursday, 29 June, at Belle Vue, Rhyl (ko 7pm), with the away leg being held at Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, which is their national stadium, on Thursday, 6 July.

The winners go on to face either Odds BK, of Norway, or Ballymena United, of Northern Ireland, in the second qualifying round.

“It’s a tough draw for everybody, but there’s no easy games anymore because everyone is so tactically aware and clubs are so well prepared,” said Caton.

“It is going to be very difficult for every team involved in the draw, regardless of where they are from or in what league they play.

“We’ll be as best prepared as possible, and we can use our past experience to help us in this situation – we’ve been knocking on the door of progressing in this competition for a while now, and we’ll be doing everything that we can to take that extra step in this tie.”

Vaduz, whose player Armando Sadiku represented Albania at Euro 2016, play at the national Rheinpark Stadion, which has a seating capacity of 5,873, but has additional standing places, which gives a total stadium capacity of 7,838.

The Club is unique in that it represents its own national association in the Europa League, whilst playing in another country’s league - due to Liechtenstein not having a national league.

They qualified this year for Europe through winning the Liechtenstein Football Cup, which they have lifted a record 45 times, as the only professional club.

• Ticket information for next Thursday’s home tie at Rhyl are now confirmed.

Home supporters must buy tickets prior to entry to the ground via the ticket office on the day of the match.

Tickets will be on sale from mid-afternoon and cost £10 for adults, and £5 for concessions and U16s. There will be no pre-ordering of match day tickets.