Medway Park has been chosen to host England Leopards women’s first home European Championships Qualifying tie of 2016/17.

The venue in Gillingham, which has previously featured on the Table Tennis England Grand Prix circuit, will stage the match against Slovenia on Tuesday November 22.

It is the first chance to see England’s finest on home soil – they begin their qualifying campaign away to Germany on September 27.

Athletes likely to feature in the tie include 2014 Commonwealth Games medallists Tin-Tin Ho – who this year won her first senior national title – and Kelly Sibley, who is a five-time national champion and London Olympian.

The announcement was made at the annual Night of Champions event at the venue, where the top eight schools who had qualified through the Mini Youth Games competed to become Medway champions.

Sibley was on hand to offer tips and answer questions as well as play an exhibition match with former England junior Yolanda King.

Sibley said: “It’s always exciting to play for England in England, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“Hopefully we will get a good crowd to cheer us on and we can really give them a good performance.”

Table Tennis England Chief Executive Sara Sutcliffe said: “We’re very excited to see England Leopards in action on home soil for the first time since before the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“Medway Park is a superb venue and we’re delighted to work with them to stage such a key fixture.”

Bob Dimond, Head of Sport, Leisure and Tourism at Medway Council, said: “We are proud that Medway Park has been chosen to host a qualifier match for the European Table Tennis Championships.

“It is a great opportunity for the people of Medway to not only watch, but get inspired by an international sporting event. We look forward to offering a warm and enthusiastic welcome to the English and Slovenian athletes in November.”

Tickets will go on sale later this summer via the Table Tennis England website.