Faisali lead Pro League

AMMAN  — The Jordan Pro Football League heads into Week 9 on Thursday with Faisali atop the pack as the action restarts after a 3-week break for the national teams’ Asian agendas.

As teams wrapped up Week 8, Faisali snatched the lead from Hussein after beating Wihdat 1-0. Hussein were held 2-2 with Jazira to settle for second while Shabab Urdun beat Ramtha 3-0 and are now third.

Aqaba tied Sahab 1-1 and are now fifth, followed by newcomers Mugheer Sarhan, who beat Ma’an 3-1 as the latter dropped to last. Salt moved up from last to 10th after holding Sarih 2-2.

Ramtha are the defending champs against traditional rivals Faisali and Wihdat. In two of the 2022 competitions played so far, Faisali won the 35th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield title when they beat Ramtha in the season opening competition. Reigning league champs Ramtha upset Jordan Cup holders Faisali 2-0 in the 39th Jordan Super Cup. 

In the 2021 season, Ramtha won the Jordan Professional League title for the third time in their history ending a 39-year drought. Newcomers to the Pro League, relatively unknown Jalil, overcame Wihdat to win the 34th JFA Shield; Wihdat beat Jazira in the 38th Jordan Super Cup, while Faisali beat Salt to win the Jordan Cup. 

In the league, Ramtha were trailed by Wihdat second, Salt third, and Faisali fourth. Hussein, Shabab Urdun, Jazira, were trailed by Ma’an, Aqaba and Sahab, who managed to hold on to their spot among the top teams as Baqa’a were relegated in their worst season yet, and were accompanied by Jalil. Mugheer Sarhan and Sarih were promoted from the First Division.

Since the league kicked off in 1944 with only Faisali, Ahli, Urdun and Homenetmen competing, Faisali are 34-time record league champs while Wihdat won 17 times since they joined in 1980. Although Faisali are the all-time record titleholders, Wihdat have won the majority of titles since 1980. Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times each, Shabab Urdun twice, Amman and Urdun clubs once each.

During the league’s break, the national football secured qualification to the 2023 Asian Cup, while Jordan’s younger U23 squad was eliminated from Round 1 at the 5th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship

Regionally, like last season, Wihdat were eliminated in the group stages of the AFC Champions League. In 2021, Wihdat became the first of the Kingdom’s clubs to play in the continent’s leading club tournament’s group stages.

No Jordanian teams are competing in this season’s AFC Cup due to financial and technical constraints. It will be the first time Jordanian teams miss the competition since 2005.