The League of Ireland champions were in pot four for the draw made at Uefa headquarters in Nyon on Friday and will now meet Arsenal, Rapid Vienna and Molde in the group stages which will be played between October 22nd and December 10th.
For obvious reasons Arsenal would have been one of the clubs Dundalk were hoping to be drawn against but, as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, they won’t be able to cash in on the full Aviva Stadium that a meeting with last year’s beaten finalists would usually get.
All in all it’s a tough draw for Giovagnoli’s team who will also face Austria’s most successful club in Rapid Vienna while current Norweigan champions Molde – who were managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before he moved to Manchester United – will also make the trip to Dublin.
Win, lose or draw it’s set to be a lucrative few months for the Co Louth side who will earn €570,000 for a win, €190,000 for a draw and, even if they were to lose all six matches, they are still in line for total payment of €2.92m – a huge bonus at a time when League of Ireland clubs are seriously struggling due to the impact of no gate receipts.