Brighton and Hearts might both discover themselves in the league section of this season’s Conference League.
Both share an proprietor in businessman Tony Bloom, however have been deemed eligible to play alongside one another ought to they advance previous this month’s final spherical of qualifying.
The Seagulls tackle Norwegian outfit Tromso, with Hearts dealing with Rapid Vienna.
Bloom expanded his soccer pursuits after notable success with Brighton, shopping for into Scottish Premiership aspect Hearts and Belgian membership Union Saint-Gilloise.
Towards the top of final season it turned obvious that Brighton might find yourself in the identical European competitors as one or both of the golf equipment inside the group.
With Brighton and Hearts coming by the play-off spherical of the Conference League, that has now come to move.
Crystal Palace have been demoted from the Europa League final season attributable to a multi-club possession battle with Lyon, so why have Brighton and Hearts escaped?
It comes all the way down to the possession construction, and Bloom has been very cautious to ensure his golf equipment keep inside the laws.
In the 2023-24 season, both Brighton and Union Saint-Gilloise certified for the Europa League.
Bloom diminished his stake in Union Saint-Gilloise to 29% – just under the Uefa 30% threshold as a set off for a multi-club mannequin.
So when Bloom purchased into Hearts final 12 months, he clearly had this battle in thoughts by buying simply 29% of the Edinburgh membership.
Uefa takes different issues into consideration, just like the composition of a membership’s board, and decision-making powers, which Brighton and Hearts additionally handed.
When Palace misplaced their place in the Europa League, John Textor owned Lyon but additionally had a seat on the Palace board and 44.09% of share capital was held by his firm, Eagle Football Holdings. This was a transparent set off of the multi-club guidelines.
This article is the newest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything crew.