Four new clubs have made history

in this season's UEFA Champions League. Cyprus' Paphos FC, Norway's Bodo/Glimt, Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty and Belgium's Union Saint-Gilloise have qualified for the main stage of European football's top competition for the first time.

Champions making historyTheir historic success was confirmed after the play-offs concluded on Tuesday night.

Paphos FC, founded just 11 years ago, advanced to the main stage of the Champions League for the first time by defeating Red Star Belgrade.

Despite a 1-1 draw at the last minute in the second leg at the Serbian giants' ground, they secured a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Paphos have previously beaten

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine in the qualifying round. The team's biggest attraction is 38-year-old Brazilian defender David Luiz. They have brought in the former Arsenal and Chelsea star.

Only APOEL and Anorthosis Famagusta have previously played in the Champions League from Cyprus.
Meanwhile, Norway's Bodo/Glimt have booked their place in the Champions League main round after defeating Austria's Sturm Graz 6-2 over two legs. Despite losing the second leg 2-1, a big win in the first leg secured their coveted ticket.

The club's home ground, Aspmira Stadium, in a small town north of the Arctic Circle, has a capacity of only 8,270 spectators.

This is the first time a Norwegian club has qualified for the Champions League since the 2007–08 season. Last season, they reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.

But the biggest surprise came

from Kazakhstan. Kairat Almaty defeated Scottish giants and former European champions Celtic on penalties to become the second Kazakh club to qualify for the Champions League after Astana.

Playing at Kairat will pose a major travel challenge for European clubs. Last season, Chelsea had to travel nearly 3,600 miles to play in the Conference League.

In addition, Union Saint-Gilloa secured a direct place in the main round of the Champions League by becoming the champion of the Belgian Pro League last season.

The Champions League main draw will take place in Monaco on Thursday. The first round matches will be played from September 16 to 18.