Wihdat, Jazira contest Super Cup title

AMMAN — Jazira take on Jordan Professional Football League (Pro League) champs Wihdat on Sunday in the 38th Jordan Super Cup, the second title up for grabs in the 2021 football season.

Traditionally played between the league and Jordan Cup champs, the match will see league runner-up Jazira face the league winners as the Jordan Cup was not played last season.

Wihdat will be looking for their 14th Super Cup while Jazira won only once in 1985. However, the latter has been close to the league title in the past three seasons and lost momentum in the final weeks.

Last week, a newcomer to the Pro League, relatively unknown Jalil, overcame Wihdat to win the 34th Jordan Football Association Shield — the first of the season competitions. Jalil eliminated Wihdat 6-5 on penalties after the match ended 1-1 to take home JD15,000 in prize money leaving the runner-up with JD10,000. On their way to the final, Wihdat beat Faisali while Jalil ousted Jazira.

Since it kicked off in 1981, the Super Cup has been won by Faisali a record 17 times out of 25 final appearances, Wihdat have won 13 times, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun won twice each while Jazira, Hussein and Ahli won once each.

Last season, Wihdat won their 17th Pro League title as well as their 10th JFA Shield. In other competitions, Faisali overcame Jazira to win their 17th Jordan Super Cup as the Jordan Cup was scrapped from the agenda for the first time since the competition kicked off in 1980.

Jalil and Baqa’a joined the 12-club Pro League this season as Sarih dropped alongside veterans Ahli after a disappointing season.

With the Pro League, as well as, regional competitions ahead players are back to their club line-ups after the national team ended their training camp abroad in preparation for 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers. Jordan held Oman 0-0, beat Lebanon 1-0 and Bahrain 2-1 in three friendlies in Dubai and Manama. 

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has set the date and location of qualifiers to be played in Kuwait June 7-15.

Regionally, the season will see Wihdat playing in the preliminary round of the Asian Champions League. They are scheduled to play in Group D against Saudi Arabia’s Nassr, Qatar’s Sadd, and a third qualifier from Iran or UAE  on April 14-29 in Saudi Arabia.

Faisali and Salt are set to play in the AFC Cup. Last season, reigning league champs Faisali played alongside Jazira in the AFC Cup, which was later scrapped with the COVID-19 pandemic halting regional and international sporting agendas.