Hussein top League heading into week 9

By Aline Bannayan - Oct 30,2024 - Last updated at Oct 30,2024

AMMAN — Holders Hussein and veterans Wihdat consolidated their grip and continued their unbeaten run ahead of week 9 of the CFI Professional Football League which kicks off on Thursday.

Hussein beat Ahli 2-0 to take a 2 point lead at the top, as Wihdat managed a 3-2 win over bottom placed Aqaba and moved up to second. Ramtha share third place with Ahli after a 3-2 loss to Salt while Faisali drew 2-2 with Jazira as results raised concerns and fostered a debate at the status of the team leading to a change in the coaching staff and resignation of some board members.

Other results saw Shahab Urdun beat Mughayer Sarhan 2-0 who dropped to 11th and Ma’an beat Sarih 3-2 to move up to 7th.

Hussein and Wihdat will have a tough ten days ahead with CFI League as well as Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Champions League Two matches coming up in the first week of November. Wihdat will play Tajikistan’s Istiklol on November 5 while Hussein face Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi the following day.

So far in the 21st edition of the second tier competition which has replaced the AFC Cup, Wihdat are second on goal difference in Group C after scoring a vital 1-0 away win over Istiklol, holding UAE’s Sharjah 2-2 and beating Iran’s Sepahan Isfahan 2-1. In other group matches, Sharjah beat Sepahan 3-1 and beat Istiklol 1-0 while Sepahan beat Istiklol 4-0.

In Group D, Hussein are also second on goal difference after scoring important 2-1 wins over Nasaf Qarshi and Kuwait Club and losing 3-1 to UAE’s Ahli Dubai. In other group matches, Ahli beat Kuwait 4-1, Nasaf beat Ahli 2-1 while Kuwait held Nasaf 0-0.

Jordan Football Association Shield matches will also resume as of November 8. Hussein moved to the semifinals leaving Wihdat and Shabab Urdun fighting for the second spot from Group 1, while Faisali, Salt, Ramtha and Sarih are still competing for the two tickets from Group 2.

In the 2023/2024 season, Hussein won the Pro League title for the first time becoming the 9th champions since the League kicked off in 1944. Neighbors Ramtha, won the 2022 title for the third time in their history after 39 years. The past two seasons had clubs from the north dominate the league.

In other competitions, Wihdat won the Jordan Cup for the 12th time as well as the Super Cup for their 15th time, while Faisali won their 9th Jordan Football Association Shield.

Faisali are 35-time record league champs while Wihdat won 17 times since first joining in 1980. Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times, Shabab Urdun twice, Hussein, Amman and Urdun clubs once.