Premier League clubs have won the Uefa Conference League three times in the past four years and Brighton get their campaign underway this Thursday in Norway against Tromso.
West Ham United triumphed in 2023, with Chelsea (2025) and Crystal Palace (2026) all winning Europe's third tier competition.
Brighton's play-off first leg is at Tromos' 6,687 capacity Romssa Arena - complete with artificial pitch - and the return leg is at the Amex on August 27.
Should the Seagulls advance, they enter the Conference League group stages, which starts in October.
Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen feels the recent success of top flight rivals West Ham, Chelsea and Palace can only be good for Brighton.
Verbruggen: ‘We are not less than them’
"Oh yes, for sure," said Verbruggen to Sussex World after the 1-0 friendly win against Bologna at the Amex Stadium last Saturday.
"I think it's a nice opportunity to play to win a title. Obviously, we've seen the teams that have won it in the past, and when we compare ourselves to those teams, we are not less than them.
"So yeah, that's the aim, that's the goal, to win the league, to win the competition.
"But first of all, we need to qualify. And as I just said, it's not that easy when you play as far north away on artificial, against a team that's in the middle of the season.
"So no excuses, we have to go and win, but first qualify and then we'll see the rest."
Tromso a stern test
Tromso will be a stern test for Brighton as they are fully up to speed and halfway through their top flight campaign. In their previous qualifying round Tromso thrashed Romanian outfit Cluj 7-1 on aggregate, thanks mostly to their 5-0 first leg away win.
“Obviously, maybe you can say it's in their benefit,” Verbruggen added when asked if Tromso have an advantage after playing 15 league matches so far.
“On the other hand, maybe we are more fresh. Let's see, there's no excuses. We just have to go there, think about our own qualities, the way we want to play the game and show up in the best way we can and then I'm sure we will win.”
All change in defence
The defence in front of Verbruggen has changed this summer. Jan Paual van Hecke, Adam Webster and Joel Veltman have all gone, while Luka Vuskovic, Michael Svoboda and Costinha have arrived. Lewis Dunk and Olivier Boscagli remain.
Verbruggen added: “Obviously there's some things that have changed, because since I joined Brighton I've played a lot of games with Dunk and JP.
“I think I even played over half of my professional games with JP together. We've been playing together since I was 17.
“Obviously it's a bit of a change, but with Olivier I played last season, played quite some games already.
“And I think Luka and Svoboda adapted really well. I think you could see it today and in the whole pre-season.
“Last two games, two clean sheets against Roma and Bologna. It felt solid, it looked solid.
“Obviously there are still little details that you have to get to know each other more.
“But time will do that for us and we'll keep working on that. It feels good and they're great characters and good players, so I'm not worried. “