GRAEME Souness will be taking his team to CSKA Sofia for the first round of the UEFA Cup.

The Bulgarian team will provide stiff opposition to Rovers on their return to Europe, with the first leg to be played in Sofia.

Some of CSKA Sofia's recent results in Europe have seen them fall to Newcastle in 1999, losing 4-2 on aggregate.

1999-2000 UEFA Cup

Qualifying Round: Portadown FC Armagh (NIR) - CSKA 0:3, 0:5

CSKA - Newcastle (ENG) 0:2, 2:2

1997-98 Champions League

Qualification: Steaua Bucarest - CSKA

3-3, 2-0

The other English clubs will face:

Ipswich paired with FK Sartid in two-legged UEFA Cup first round tie.

Chelsea paired with Norwegian side Viking FK in two-legged UEFA Cup first round tie.

Rovers chairman Robert Coar and club secretary Tom Finn were in France to attend in person as the club prepares to make their return to Europe.

Rovers are one of 124 teams who will contest this season's competition.

Graeme Souness's Worthington Cup winners are among a group of 39 clubs, which also features European Super-powers like Lazio, Parma, Porto, Paris St Germain, and Deportivo, who enter the competition at the first round stage.

First-round matches will then be played on September 19 and October 3 respectively, with the second-round draw following at UEFA's Nyon headquarters on Tuesday, 8 October 2002.

If Rovers were to progress through those early rounds then the action will start to hot-up in December when the draw for both the fourth round and quarter finals is scheduled for the 13th.

After that, the semi-final draw will be made on Friday, March 21, with the final itself set to take place on May 21 at the Olimpico Stadium in Seville.