CWMBRAN Town have landed a plum UEFA Cup qualifying date with top European club Maccabi Haifa.

But Crows chiefs are currently unsure where the second and final leg will be staged. There are security concerns surrounding playing the game in Maccabi's home country of Israel due to the on-going Middle East crisis.

Haifa played all their Champions League fixtures last year, including their 3-0 victory over Premiership giants Manchester United, in the Cypriot city of Nicosia.

Maccabi will inform UEFA and Cwmbran, who qualified for the UEFA Cup as runners-up of the Welsh Cup, of the venue within the next week but Town chairman John Colley hinted the game could be in the Turkish city of Izmir.

"We should know very soon," said Colley. "We need to know so we can start planning travel arrangements."

UEFA, European football's governing body, have set a July 7 deadline for Haifa to confirm where they will stage the second leg.

Maccabi Haifi, Israeli League champions seven times, were the first team from their country to compete in the Champions League.

They narrowly missed out on a second phase spot last term as Sir Alex Ferguson's men and German side Leverkusen, surprise runners-up to Real Madrid in the previous year's final, went through the first phase.

Haifa, who this week announced youth club coach Ronni Levy as manager following Itzhak Shum's departure, beat Chelsea on aggregate in last season's UEFA Cup and were seeded fourth in yesterday's draw in Geneva.

"This will be a massive game for us," insisted Colley. "They have got eight international players and have an annual playing budget of £10 million.

"They are a force in European football and I hope the game will capture the imagination of Gwent's footballing public as well as Cwmbran's."

The home first leg in Wales is pencilled in for August 14 while the away leg in two weeks later.

Brian Coyne, Cwmbran's excited manager, beamed: "It's a great draw for us but it's as tough as they come.

"All we can do is prepare correctly for the game, perform well and hope they have an off-day.

"The lads know, though, that 90 per cent of professional players never get the chance to play in Europe while some of Cwmbran's players are becoming veterans. This will be their sixth European adventure in ten years."

Pictured: Crow's new manager Brian Coyne