Al Sadd enter bio-bubble ahead of kick-off; Goa welcomes Al Rayyan

Qatar football giants and former champions Al Sadd yesterday entered a biosecure bubble at the Burj Al Rafal hotel in Riyadh after arriving at the Saudi capital ahead of their AFC Champions League (ACL) campaign.

The QNB Stars League winners have been placed in Group D of the Asian competition, alongside hosts Al Nassr, Jordanian side Al Wehdat and Foolad Khouzestan FC of Iran. The Al Sadd delegation consists of 24 players, in addition to technical staff and team officials led by the club’s general manager Turki Al Ali. The 2011 winners of the ACL title, Al Sadd have a number of top guns in their arsenal including Qatari stars Saad Al Dossari, Meshaal Barsham, Pedro Miguel, Hassan Al Haydos, Khoukhi Boualem, Rodrigo Tabata and Abdelkarim Hassan as well as South Korean star Nam Tae-hee, Brazilian Guilherme Torres, Algerian international Baghdad Bounedjah and Spaniard Santi Cazorla. Following their arrival in Riyadh, the players and officials underwent COVID-19 tests, before moving to their rooms, where they will quarantine until the results of their tests are out.