The Reds had 26 players in their African squad and had previously added the names of defender Rami Adel, midfielder Mohamed Mahmoud "Nano" and striker Reda Al-Weeshi in addition to Belal.

"We added Belal to our squad as we have just four strikers and we need all our striking force to win the title for the third straight time," Ahli assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri told the club's official website.

This is while the club failed to assign new signing Moataz Eno as the midfielder played a game with Zamalek in the same competition last March.