Nyon, June 24 :

Five weeks after Barcelona won the Champions League, the first two stages of the qualifying draw were held on Friday for the next edition of Europe’s premier club soccer competition.

A total of 39 clubs were drawn into the first two phases of qualifying.

English Premier League qualifiers Arsenal and Liverpool, Spainish La Liga’s Valencia and Italy’s Inter Milan were among the teams scheduled to be drawn on

July 28 into a third qualifying round. The draw for the final group stage will be held in Monaco on August 24.

The first round of matches, featuring 22 domestic title-holders, will be played over two legs on July 11-12 and July 18-19. Winners will meet a pool of 17 teams drawn into the second phase, with matches being played over two legs on July 25-26 and August 1-2. The second round features domestic league runners-up, including Hearts of the Scottish Premier League, Turkish club Fenerbahce, and Dynamo Kiev of the Ukrainian league.