Georgian club Black Lion will take part in next season's European Challenge Cup competition

Georgian club Black Lion will take part in next season's European Challenge Cup competition.

They have joined South African side Toyota Cheetahs in accepting an invitation to take part, tournament organiser European Professional Club Rugby said.

Black Lion will become the first club from Georgia to be part of EPCR’s main professional competitions.

They have been allocated into Pool Three alongside Gloucester, Edinburgh, Scarlets, Clermont Auvergne and Castres, with home matches being played in Tbilisi.

The Cheetahs, meanwhile, go into Pool One with Cell C Sharks, Dragons, Zebre Parma, Oyonnax and Pau, playing 'home’ games in Amsterdam.

"This is a hugely important moment for Georgian rugby and for the country," Georgian Rugby Union president Ioseb Tkemaladze said, in an EPCR statement.

"We have all been working hard for this – on the pitch and behind the scenes – for many years, and we are grateful to EPCR for taking a lead and showing the vision that is needed to further the global development and growth of the game."