Jordan hosts Hong Kong in Asian qualifiers for 2016 Olympics

AMMAN — The women’s national football team plays Hong Kong on Wednesday in its first Group A Asian qualifier which kicks off in Amman on Wednesday as teams start the journey to qualify to the 2016 Summer Olympics football tournament.

Newly appointed coach Khader Eid, who replaced Japanese Masahiko Okiyama, said the team had prepared as best possible and would “fight hard for the sole qualifying berth from Group A”. 

When Eid announced the final line-up he commented that “Jordan’s hope is to qualify and boost the competitive edge of Jordanian women’s football”. 

The team hosted Abu Dhabi Club last week winning 2-1 and drawing 2-2.

Jordan was drawn alongside Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and Palestine. Other teams competing are Myanmar, India, Bahrain and Sri Lanka in Group B, and Taiwan, Iran and Laos in Group C.

The three group leaders will advance to join Vietnam and Thailand in Round 2, from which the top team will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China — which eventually qualifies the top two to represent Asia at the Olympic Games. 

Jordan is taking part in qualifiers for the second time after the 2012 London Olympics qualifiers when they advanced to Round 2 after beating Palestine and drawing with Bahrain and Iran, but were eliminated after losing to Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Thailand. 

The team did not have much time and had an uphill task with the women’s league postponed and most national teams having ended the past year on a down note after elimination from Asian qualifiers. 

Jordan is the top ranked Arab team in the FIFA World Rankings and went up one spot to 56th in the latest edition. The squad is now Asia’s 11th ranked team, following Japan, North Korea, Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Myanmar and India.

 Jordan won the West Asian title twice in 2005 and 2007, conceded it to the UAE in 2010 and 2012, and regained it in 2014 as Iran, Lebanon as well as two-time champs and titleholders UAE missed the event.

Last year, Jordan was eliminated from Group A
qualifiers for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Women’s Championship. Group leaders Uzbekistan beat Jordan and moved to the 2015 AFC U-19 Championship, from which the top three teams qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

The U-19 squad was hoping to qualify for the second time after Jordan was the first Arab team to play in the 3rd AFC U-19 Women’s Championship finals in 2007. 

Last year, the youth team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship after qualifying in 2013. In addition, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and similarly exited the first round of their first AFC 2014 Women’s Asian Cup where they were the only Arab team to have ever qualified. In 2013, the U-14 girls team retained the 2nd U-14 West Asian Championship title.

Jordan will host the U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2016 and is now gearing up to implement executive plans to prepare four stadiums as well as 16 practice fields. Jordan beat bids from Uruguay, South Africa, Ireland and Bahrain.