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.
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,000mm, Winners: Mumayaza, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winners: Sharkh, Pat Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep - Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Gold Cup - Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nibras Passion, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ismail Mohammed
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
More on Quran memorisation:
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
