Red Stripe Premier League finalists Portmore United will play against CD Plaza Amador of Panama in a home and away round slated to commence in early August, in the inaugural season of the 2017 Scotiabank CONCACAF League.

The fixtures were realised at the Hilton Miami Airport hotel in Miami, Florida, during the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) draw last Wednesday, which arranged the 16 qualified clubs into eight parings for the first round of the competition.The draw was conducted by CONCACAF General Secretary Phillipe Moggio, with the assistance of former players Alvaro Saborio of Costa Rica, and Omar Daley of Jamaica.It will be the first time that Portmore have qualified for a CONCACAF competition since they participated in the 2006 Champions Cup where they made the last eight, the best finish by a Jamaican club.Arnett Gardens remain the only other local club to make the last 16, doing so in 2003. Ironically, both teams will meet tomorrow night in the Red Stripe Premier League final inside the National Stadium.The Scotiabank CONCACAF League, the new club competition of CONCACAF, features 16 top club teams from the Central American and Caribbean regions.The winner of the 2017 Scotiabank CONCACAF League will then join the 2018 edition of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, which kicks off in February of next year.That will see 15 more of the best clubs from the entire CONCACAF region, including the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, United States and Canada.The champion of that competition will represent the region in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.“This draw is neither favorable nor unfavorable to me; once you are in this competition, its champions against champions. You have to have some level of pedigree to get to this level. In fact, I spoke to a few of the members of the management team of CD Plaza and I learnt that they have a very formidable programme and a well-organised club with programmes from Under-13 to semi-pro. And they also have a reserve first team separate and apart from their professional outfit who will be competing against us, of which four of their players are part of the national line-up,” Portmore United’s General Manager Clive Marshall told the

Jamaica Observer.“That in fact speaks to some level of pedigree. But what we do in this situation is to relish the opportunity, as the objective we set out in our club is to help our youngsters to gain some experience at the professional and international level. To get them developed we have to compete against professional outfits. We just want to continue to have a perfect 2017, so we are looking forward for the challenge,” he added.

FixturesThe Round of 16 pairing for the 2017 Scotiabank CONCACAF League are as follows:Matchup #1: San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) v Santos de Guapiles FC (CRC)Matchup #2: CD Honduras Progreso (HON) v Chorrillo FC (PAN)Matchup #3: CD Arabe Unido (PAN) v Central FC (TRI)Matchup #4: Real Esteli FC (NIC) v CD Aguila (SLV)Matchup #5: LD Alajuelense (CRC) v CD Olimpia (HON)Matchup #6: Alianza FC (SLV) v Platense FC (HON)Matchup #7: CD Plaza Amador (PAN) v Portmore United FC (JAM)Matchup #8: Belmopan Bandits (BLZ) v CD Walter Ferretti (NIC)— Bev Melbourne