Paulo Sousa has been handed a challenging start in his bid to add continental glory to the domestic dominance of his first season in UAE football with Shabab Al Ahli.
The UAE Pro League winners will have away trips to each of the Jeddah giants in the league phase of the AFC Champions League Elite, starting on September 15.
Meanwhile, in the Asian Champions League 2, the second tier AFC competition, Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr were given an eclectic set of fixtures - including a trip to India to take on FC Goa - in Friday's draw in Kuala Lumpur.
The opening round of the Elite competition involves two groups of 12 teams, one for the east zone and one for the west.
Each team will play eight matches, and, during the draw, the three UAE sides were each given three games against the all-star sides of the Saudi Pro League.
Shabab Al Ahli will start out against Al Ahli Saudi, the side who claimed the Champions League title in formidable style in their home stadium in Jeddah in May.
They will also travel to play Ahli’s city rivals, Al Ittihad, who won the Saudi Pro League title with the likes of Karim Benzema, Ngolo Kante and Fabinho in their ranks.
They will face all three of the Saudi Arabian clubs, with Darwin Nunez and his Al Hilal side set to travel from Riyadh to Dubai to play them.
Shabab Al Ahli have never won one of Asia’s top titles, but they were runners up – in their previous guise of Al Ahli – in 2015.
Under the guidance of Portuguese coach Sousa, Shabab Al Ahli swept all before them in domestic football last season.
Coincidentally, it was a UAE club who thwarted their bid to add a continental honour to their league and cup double.
Sharjah beat them in the quarter-final of the AFC Champions League Two. Sharjah also qualified for the main event this season, and they will also be faced with away trips to both the Jeddah giants, while hosting Hilal.
The third UAE club involved are Al Wahda. The Abu Dhabi club, who have brought in playmaker Dusan Tadic ahead of the new campaign, face the inverse of their compatriots.
They will host the two Jeddah clubs, but will travel to Riyadh to face the Simone Inzaghi-coached Hilal side.
Ronaldo and Nassr head to Goa
The draw for the Champions League Two was dominated by the presence of one club in particular: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
The SPL side have been drawn in a group with Al Zarwaa of Iraq, India’s FC Goa, and Istiklol Dushanbe of Tajikistan.
It has been suggested that the Riyadh giants could field second string sides for their fixtures in the competition, in order to aid their SPL title challenge.
However, the prospect of stars of the world game like Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Sadio Mane lining up in front of a frenzied crowd in Goa, in particular, is a captivating one.
The Champions League Two trophy is currently in UAE hands. Sharjah became the second UAE side to win a continental title, after two-time elite winners Al Ain, when they beat Lion City Sailors in Singapore in May.
They will not defend their crown, though, having won their place in the Elite tournament. Instead, Al Wasl will carry UAE hopes in the second-tier competition.
The Dubai side have been drawn in a group with Esteghlal of Iran, Al Muharraq of Bahrain, and Jordan’s Al Wehdat.
