Faisali take home Jordan Cup crown

AMMAN — Faisali concluded the 2019/19 football season beating Ramtha 2-0 late Saturday evening to win their 20th Jordan Cup title.

Faisali combined the 39th Jordan Cup to the Jordan Professional Football League title they won last month, leaving Jazira second and Wihdat third. Earlier in the season, Wihdat beat then Jordan Cup champs Jazira to win the 36th Jordan Super Cup. 

Ramtha were aiming to win the Jordan Cup for a third time after they last won 28 years ago in back to back seasons in 1990/91. On their way to the final, Ramtha eliminated Wihdat beating them 3-1 before tying 1-1 in the semifinal to advance while Faisali had an easier path beating Karmel twice 1-0. 

It was an exciting Jordan Cup competition this season. Thirty-two First and Second Division teams competed with league teams. Hussein and That Ras one of the first eliminated early on by Second Division teams Khaldieh and Um Qutain in the knockout Round 1. In the quarters, Faisali ousted Aqaba, Wihdat eliminated Ahli, Karmel ousted Um Qutain, and Ramtha eliminated Manshieh.

Since the cup started in 1980, Faisali won a record 20 times. Wihdat 1o times, Jazira, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun twice, while Arabi, That Ras and Ahli won once each.

Last season, Jazira who had finished runner-up in the league made club history by winning the 38th Jordan Cup final after they last won the title in 1984. On the regional scene, Jazira were eliminated from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup West Asia zone final and failed to reach the continent’s final while Faisali bowed out in the semifinals. In Arab competitions, Ramtha were eliminated by Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive Du Sahel in the preliminary round of the Arab Club Champions Cup. 

With the local season now behind them, Jazira and Wihdat aim to advance beyond the semifinal of the 16th AFC Cup. In the premier Asian competition, Wihdat were eliminated early in the 2018/19 AFC Champions League, Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. Faisali were eliminated in the 2017/18 edition, while Wihdat were knocked out in 2019, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and Shabab Urdun in 2014.