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MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Stephen Curry scored 21 of his 33 points by halftime as the Golden State Warriors ended their two-game losing streak Monday by routing the Memphis Grizzlies 101-84 to level the NBA Western Conference semifinal at 2-2.

Atlanta and Washington are also even at 2-2 in their second-round play-off after Jeff Teague scored 26 points, including a key 3-pointer, to lead the Hawks over the Wizards 106-101.

The Warriors hadn’t lost three straight games all season, and they never came close as they took back home-court advantage. Curry hadn’t scored more than 23 points in this series, and he nearly had that by halftime.

Draymond Green had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors while Klay Thompson had 15 points, Harrison Barnes 12 and Andre Iguodala 11.

Marc Gasol had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis while Zach Randolph had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Conley finished with 10 points and seven assists but was 4 of 15 from the field. Memphis pulled their starters with 3:00 left.

Game 5 is Wednesday night at Golden State.

The Warriors led by as many as 26 points, and they had their best game shooting outside the arc knocking down 14 3s.

In Washington, Paul Pierce missed a 3-point attempt that would have levelled scores for the Wizards with less than 10 seconds left, just two days after hitting a buzzer-beater to win Game 3.

Al Horford had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Millsap added 19 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Washington point guard John Wall missed a third consecutive game with a broken left hand.

Game 5 is Wednesday night at Atlanta.

The Hawks led most of the game, but Washington cut the deficit to 101-97 with under 2 minutes remaining. Teague’s 3-pointer with 72 seconds left got the margin back to seven.

Still, after Washington’s Bradley Beal blocked a shot by Dennis Schroder in the lane to keep Atlanta’s lead at 104-101, the Wizards had the ball and called a timeout with 9.5 seconds remaining. They got Pierce an open look at a 3, but it went off the rim.

Beal had a career playoff-high 34 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Pierce had 22 points, including five of Washington’s 12 3-pointers.

Atlanta guard Jeff Teague scored 26 points as the Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 106-101
to square their Eastern Conference semifinal play-off series at 2-2 on Monday.

Paul Millsap scored 19 points and Al Horford had 18 and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, who are top seeds in the East.

Playing their third straight game without injured All Star John Wall, the Wizards trailed by nine with 3:40 remaining and despite getting as close as 104-101 in the final seconds they were unable to grab another last-gasp victory like they did in Game 3.

Paul Pierce, who hit a buzzer-beating winner on Saturday, missed a wide-open three-pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining.

Atlanta’s Millsap sank two free throws for the final points with less than a second left to ice the win.

The Hawks led 65-55 at halftime and withstood several rallies by the fifth-seeded Wizards, who got 34 points from guard Bradley Beal. Pierce scored 22 and had made five of six three-pointers before his final miss.

Teague buried a three-pointer with 1:12 remaining to put the Hawks up 104-97 after the Wizards scored five straight points to pull within three.

Dennis Schroder scored 14 points for the Hawks as Atlanta’s bench outscored Washington’s 32-17.

AMMAN — Wihdat and Jazira are looking forward to Asian Football Confederation (AFC)  Cup Stage 6 matches kicking off on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the event after impressive scoring ahead of their final preliminary round matches.

Wihdat, who earlier this week won the Jordan Professional League title for the 14th time, now top Group A and host Oman's Nahda in their final match. Wihdat had scored a 3-0 win over Nahda in Leg 1. The League champs topped the group after they beat Lebanese hosts Salam Zgharta 3-0 after an earlier 5-1 win. They also held Syria's Wihda 1-1 after losing 1-0 in Leg 1. 

On the other hand, Group B leaders Jazira play their last match against Iraq's Shurta in Doha, Qatar.  After two-time AFC Cup champs and Faisali declined, Jazira started the event with a streak of 1-1 draws with Bahrain's Hidd, Shurta and Palestine's Wadi Al Ness. Jazira took the group lead after they beat Wadi Al Ness 2-0 and Hidd 1-0.  Jazira are on a high note after they overcame Ramtha for 2nd place in the Jordan Professional League. 

Wihdat have never won the AFC Cup in the past seven times while it is the first time for Jazira. Earlier this season, Wihdat exited the AFC Champions League losing 1-0 to ACL and AFC Cup titleholders Kuwait's Qadissieh.

The AFC cup has grouped 32 clubs from across the continent, competing in eight groups with the top two from each group going to the Round of 16. Last season, first time AFC Cup competitors and Jordan Cup champs That Ras exited the Round of 16 while former AFC Cup champs Shabab Urdun exited in Round 1. They were also eliminated by Bahrain's Hidd in their preliminary round of the AFC Champions League.

The second-tier Asian club competition was won by Syria's Jeish in its inaugural edition in 2004. Jordan's Faisali won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun in 2007.

CHICAGO — LeBron James hit a jump shot from the corner at the final buzzer to give Cleveland Cavaliers an 86-84 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, leveling the Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

James finished with 25 points to help the Cavaliers win in another wild finish, returning the favour after Chicago took Game 3 on Derrick Rose’s banked 3-pointer at the buzzer.

This time, James got whistled for an offensive foul when he elbowed Mike Dunleavy Jr. That led to a tying layup for Rose with 9.4 seconds left.

“I was supposed to take the ball out,” James said. “I told coach there was no way I’m taking the ball out unless I could shoot it over the backboard and go in. So I told him, ‘Have somebody else take the ball out.’ The play that was drawn up, I scratched it. I just told coach, ‘Just give me the ball. We’re either going to go into overtime or I’m going to win it for us.’”

James, playing the final quarter on a sprained left ankle, ended it with the jumper from the corner over Jimmy Butler.

Game 5 is Tuesday in Cleveland.

James committed eight turnovers and struggled again from the field, hitting 10 of 30 shots. He is 18 of 55 the past two games. But he also had 14 rebounds and eight assists.

Kyrie Irving, playing with a sore foot, was 2 of 12 and had 12 points and two assists.

Timofey Mozgov had 15 points and nine rebounds. JR Smith came on strong down the stretch, scoring all but two of his 13 in the fourth quarter.

Rose scored 31 points and Jimmy Butler added 19 for Chicago, which was playing without Pau Gasol. He sat out with a strained left hamstring, and his status for Game 5 is in question.

In Sunday’s other play-off, DeAndre Jordan scored 26 points, surviving Houston’s intentional-foul fest in the first half as Los Angeles Clippers took a 3-1 series lead to put the Rockets on the brink of elimination in the Western Conference semifinals.

Jordan made 14 of 34 free throws, attempting an NBA playoff-record 28 in the first half, and had 17 rebounds. Blake Griffin added 21 points, JJ Redick had 18 points and Chris Paul finished with 15 points and 12 assists in the Clippers’ second straight blowout win in the best-of-7 series.

They can advance to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history with a victory in Game 5 Tuesday night in Houston.

James Harden scored 21 points and Trevor Ariza added 18 for the Rockets. Dwight Howard was held to seven points and six rebounds after being in foul trouble most of a game that grinded to a halt early on when Houston started forcing Jordan to the line. Howard fouled out with 9:52 remaining and left the court. 

Clippers closer to Western final 

Centre DeAndre Jordan’s double-double led Los Angeles Clippers to the brink of a first Western Conference final with a 128-95 win over the Houston Rockets at the Staples Centre on Sunday.

With 26 points and 17 rebounds, Jordan was one of six Los Angeles players in double figures as Clippers took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series ahead of Game Five at the Toyota Centre in Houston on Tuesday.

Forward Blake Griffin poured in 21 points and eight rebounds, shooting guard JJ Redick scored 18 while point guard Chris Paul finished with 15 points and 12 assists.

Guard James Harden led Houston with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Clippers held a six-point advantage at halftime, but opened up the lead in third quarter with a 21-4 run for an 81-58 cushion after back-to-back lobs from Paul to Jordan midway through the quarter.

Rockets continued with their ploy to intentionally send Jordan to the foul line. They started their strategy less than four minutes into the contest and continued to hack Jordan until the end of the second quarter.

Jordan made only 10 of 28 foul shot attempts in the first half and 14 of 34 overall.

His 28 first-half attempts were the most in a half of a play-off game for a Clippers player, breaking the record set by Doc Rivers, now the team’s coach, against Utah Jazz in 1992.

Jordan also broke his own mark of 17 attempts in a game, recorded in last year’s first-round series against Golden State Warriors.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Bayern Munich must score and hope to contain football’s most efficient attack, led by Lionel Messi, when it meets Barcelona in their Champions League semifinal return leg on Tuesday.

Bayern is seeking to become only the second team in the 23-year-old history of the Champions League to overcome a three-goal deficit. Bayern lost the first leg last week 3-0 to coach Pep Guardiola’s old team, with Messi contributing two superb goals and assisting on Neymar’s final strike.

Only Deportivo la Coruna managed to wipe away a three-goal deficit, beating AC Milan 4-0 at home in the 2004 quarter-finals after losing the first leg 4-1.

Five-time champion Bayern, seeking its 11th final on June 6 in Berlin, can feel some optimism due to its unblemished record at home this season in the competition, with 19 goals scored and one conceded in five games. In its last two Champions League home matches, Bayern has scored 13 goals, including a 6-1 rout of Porto after a 3-1 away defeat.

But Bayern has lost four straight matches across all competitions and has not scored in its last three matches — for the first time in 17 years.

Four-time winner Barcelona is one leg away from an eighth final.

Here are some things to know about Tuesday’s match: 

Messi’s men

Messi won the first duel with his former manager with a pair of breathtaking goals that ignited the Camp Nou before setting up Neymar to make it 3-0.

Messi leads Barcelona with 53 goals this season, including a Champions League-leading 10.

But what sets this Barcelona apart from recent years is that the club has found the two perfect wingmen for Messi and Bayern will have to find a way to stop all three if it wants to keep the clean sheet required to even dream of a comeback.

Neymar has scored in his last six appearances, and took his season tally to 35 goals on Saturday, scoring Barcelona’s first in a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad that left it one win away from the Spanish league title.

“I’m very comfortable with my teammates because we are having an excellent season,” Neymar said.

Luis Suarez has added 24 goals despite missing first two months of the season as he completed a four-month ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup.

That’s 112 goals between the strikers, and yet another reason Barcelona is poised to reach the final.

Enthusiasm curbed 

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is not taking anything for granted, and has reminded his players this is the Bayern that responded to a 3-1 defeat at FC Porto with a 6-1 comeback in the quarter-finals.

“We will suffer in Munich,” Luis Enrique said. “Bayern is a one-of-a-kind rival and they know what it is to fight for comebacks this season. We will never think that this is done nor even that it is looking good. We will have to make sure we defend far from our area.”

Luis Enrique rested midfielder Ivan Rakitic over the weekend, and only played Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets as second-half substitutes. That means he will likely repeat the same starting 11 that outplayed Bayern in their first meeting.

Luis Enrique will have his entire squad at his disposal after Jeremy Mathieu recovered from a right Achilles injury that sidelined him for the first leg.

Goetze factor

When Germany played Argentina in the final of last year’s World Cup final, Germany coach Joachim Loew sent on Mario Goetze as a substitute and told him to show the world that he can be better than Messi. Goetze responded by scoring the winning goal for the title with wonderful touch.

But while Messi is enjoying a prolific season, Goetze has remained mostly under the radar. He is often used as a substitute and has had few outstanding moments despite scoring nine goals.

Former Bayern great Franz Beckenbauer last week sharply criticised Goetze, saying he had to show more of a presence on the field.

With Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben injured, Guardiola may decide to start Goetze as a forward. Perhaps he needs to give him some extra motivation, just as Loew did.

Pep’s aura

Guardiola’s guru-like aura since his arrival in Bayern last season is beginning to evaporate. The media are beginning to question some of his tactics, including a back-three defence attempt in Barcelona that lasted 15 minutes.

Critics are pointing out that Bayern has won four of 11 matches in the Champions League knockout phase in two seasons under Guardiola.

In the Bundesliga, Bayern has struggled against higher-ranked teams, losing to Wolfsburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach and also going out against Dortmund in the German Cup.

Guardiola has called it a “super season” despite the setbacks, but there is already speculation whether he will remain for the last season on his contract.

“Oh lads. I’ve said it 200 million times... I have another year on my contract. I will stay here next season,” Guardiola said Monday.

Real Madrid-Juventus

Madrid just needs a 1-0 win at home over Juventus on Wednesday to put the Champions League titleholders back in the final — and probably set up the first “clasico” in club football’s biggest game.

Not so fast, say the Italian champions.

Juventus will aim to protect its 2-1 advantage on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu, after former Madrid forward Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez scored in their first meeting in Italy.

But Cristiano Ronaldo snatched a valuable away goal to salvage an otherwise poor performance by the 10-time champions. That was the Ballon d’Or holder’s 54th goal of the season.

Juventus received a boost when Paul Pogba returned from an injury-absence of 52 days and marked his comeback with a goal to secure a 1-1 draw against Cagliari on Saturday.

Pogba, who had been out since tearing a right thigh muscle at Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16, was involved for an hour and the talented young midfielder could play a key part at Madrid.

“Ready for Madrid? I’m always ready,” the 22-year-old Pogba said. “We know it’s going to be really difficult. They’re playing at home as well so it’s going to be even harder for us but we want to win and we’ll do everything we can to win this match.”

Massimiliano Allegri has a full squad to choose from and had the luxury of resting most of his regular players over the weekend, having won the Italian league the previous week.

AMMAN — Amman Club won the 10th edition of the Women’s Football League after ending the domination of record seven-time League champs Shabab Urdun.

Amman, who had won in 2010, came back to complete an unbeatably impressive season with a 5-3 win over titleholders Shabab Urdun. The event also included Orthodox, who came in third, and Istiqlal, who were relegated. 

The event was played in a shortened two-leg format to allow the regrouping of the national team for Asian and Olympic qualifiers. Clubs had a short time to regroup after the national team topped Asian Group A qualifiers and reached Round 2 of the qualifiers — the first phase of the qualifying journey to the 2016 Olympics.

It is Jordan’s second time in the qualifiers after the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers when it advanced to Round 2. Jordan beat Uzbekistan 2-0, Hong Kong 1-0 and Palestine 6-0. Group leaders will 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. 

The women’s national team went up two spots to 54th in the latest FIFA World Rankings and is leading Arab teams and is 11th in the Asian continent. 

Team officials hope the squad will make up for a disappointing 2014 season when the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the 2014 Asian Games and similarly exited the Round 1 of their first AFC 2014 Women’s Asian Cup, where they were also the only Arab team. The squad is reigning West Asian champs after winning the title with Iran, Lebanon and the UAE missing the event last year.

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

Jordanian women’s football team has progressively made its mark regionally.  In 2006, Jordan was the first Arab team to qualify to the 2007 3rd AFC U-19 Women’s Championship finals. 

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 football squad leaves for the UAE on Tuesday to play Group B qualifiers for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship in Qatar.

The event has again undergone more changes after Turkmenistan pulled out. The four-team qualifiers, which will be held at Al Qattara Stadium in Al Ain from May 16-24, will see Jordan play Pakistan on May 16, Kyrgyzstan May 18 and Kuwait May 20.

The qualifiers had earlier been set to take place at Lahore’s Punjab Stadium in Pakistan starting March 23, but were postponed due to security concerns. They were then set to start on April 2 but were indefinitely postponed prompting the Jordan Football Association (JFA) to restart the Jordan Professional League and local agenda as the date was still undecided. 

“By changing the agenda three times already, the AFC has made our task difficult and we are not in ideal mode,” head coach Jamal Abu Abed underlined. 

“It has been difficult for clubs and the JFA had organised timely training camps to help the line-up be ready.” 

With the latest date, it has again been difficult to regroup as the League just ended this weekend, and both Jazira and Wihdat players are on duty with their teams in the AFC Cup. The JFA earlier announced holding the upcoming Jordan Cup without U-23 players.

In preparation for the U-23 Group B qualifiers, Jordan held two training camps beating Bahrain 2-1 and Bseiteen Club 1-0. They also had a training camp in the UAE, where they lost to Iraq 2-1, after they beat North Korea 3-1 and drew 2-2. 

The winners of Groups A, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J have been determined and along with the winners of Group B and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship, with the 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

AMMAN – Jordan's preparations for hosting the first ever women's World Cup football event in the region are ongoing and one of the major stadiums is almost ready, the head of the organising committee told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Jordan will host the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, providing four major stadiums to host the matches.

"The stadium's pitch is ready yet there is a lot of work that has to be done and I am sure by 2016 the stadiums will be spectacular and ready to host this tournament," Samar Nassar, CEO of the event’s organising committee, told The Jordan Times.

The four stadiums are located in three cities — Amman, Irbid and Zarqa.

Amman International Stadium, located in Al Hussein Youth Sports City, has a capacity of 13,000 spectators is 11 minutes away from the Amman hotel district.

King Abdullah International Stadium, located at King Abdullah II Sports City, has a capacity of 12,000 spectators and lies 15 minutes away from the Amman hotel district.

Irbid's Prince Al Hassan Stadium, located at Al Hassan Sports City, has a capacity of 12,000 spectators and is located 88 kilometres north of Amman.

Prince Mohammad Stadium, located in Zarqa, has a capacity of 12,000 spectators and is 33 kilometres northeast of Amman.

A total of 16 teams will compete in the tournament which will run for 22 days, according to the committee.

Nassar stressed that there is a lot happening behind the scenes preparing for the competition.

"We were awarded this competition at the end of 2013. In 2014 we were working on the construction plans and that takes time because we have to meet FIFA requirements," she said, adding that the training pitches and facilities have to be ready six months before the beginning of the contest.

Nassar described the government as "supportive".

"They have been very supportive though we had a bit of a slow start but we are catching up now. I am very comfortable with the government support and they put up a good budget for renovating the infrastructure and we do not want to put any additional burden on them," she added.

Nassar said the organising committee is responsible for raising the necessary funds for the organisational aspect.

"The cost of the infrastructure for the tournament will be around JD20 million," she added.

The organising committee official said the World Cup is an opportunity for Jordanian women to shine and their talent to be exposed to the whole world, not only on the field, but also, off the field.

She said holding the event is an amazing opportunity for Jordan to have the World Cup in the centre of the Middle East and it will help the Kingdom raise awareness of the women's game.

The organising committee and HRH Prince Ali, president of the Jordan Football Association, president of the West Asian Football Federation, outgoing vice president of FIFA representing Asia and presidential FIFA candidate, unveiled the official emblem for the upcoming tournament during the 2015 Soccerex Asian Forum at the Dead Sea.

"As you can see from the logo it has the traditional Jordanian headdress and you have the Black Iris and all the elements of the Jordanian culture and heritage is in the logo," she added.

Nassar is aware that it is not going to be easy to fill up the stadiums for the matches.

"We do not only want the regular football fans, we want families and children to attend the matches too," she said.

AMMAN — Long constrained by cultural and religious conservatism, women’s football could make rapid advances in the Muslim world with the holding of the first female World Cup in the Middle East.

Such is the expectation of Samar Nassar, the inspirational chief organiser of the 16-nation Women’s Under-17 World Cup. Women from across the globe as well as in host country Jordan itself could win greater recognition and acceptance of a game proved to thrive in diverse cultures and even in adversity.

“It will not just benefit Jordanians but the thousands of Syrian girls, for example, living in refugee camps here like Zaatari where we are already providing support through the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP) and other bodies.”

FIFA, the international football federation, may be widely criticised for a clumsy bureaucracy and business practices, but awarding this tournament to Jordan sends a clear message of its commitment to the women’s game and developing world.

“It is an amazing opportunity to have a World Cup coming to the heart of the Arab world,” said Nassar, who swam for Jordan in both the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Games.

“It will help raise awareness of the women’s game and its development across the region and beyond Asia and, while that might have been unthinkable 10 years ago, it has already created so many new opportunities for women.

“It is changing the mindset of a lot of people.”

The tournament, to be played in Jordan in October, 2016, consists of 32 matches played in four stadiums in Amman, and the nearby cities of Zarqa and Irbid. The Government has already put JD20 million ($28 million) towards renovation of four stadiums with capacities of 12,000 and 13,000.

The role of women in sport is controversial across the Middle East. Women are banned from public participation in sports in Saudi Arabia. In Iran women can play as long as they observe Islamic dress codes, but cannot enter stadiums reserved for men. In other states of the region, however, such as Jordan, women are free to play football.

Headscarf ban lifted 

The AFDP, founded by outgoing FIFA vice-president HRH Prince Ali, the president of the Jordanian Football Association, has made a significant contribution to grass-roots football in Asia including the Middle East.

Prince Ali fought to lift FIFA’s ban on women and girls playing organised football in their hijabs or headscarves, and that change has transformed the game’s development among women in Muslim countries from the Middle East to the Far East.

“I don’t think anyone should have been discriminated against because they wanted to wear a headdress, and getting that ban lifted was instrumental in pushing the women’s game in the region,” Nassar says.

“The change definitely allowed some women or girls who otherwise could not play, to play. When FIFA first banned it, it had a devastating affect on so many people. The ban being lifted has had a huge impact.”

Success for Nassar is measured in the cultural and social impact the tournament can have for women and girls.

Nassar acknowledges a challenge in trying to convince a traditionally conservative society that women and girls playing football is not at odds with that society’s religious, cultural and social mores.

AMMAN — The 63rd Jordan Professional League — a season that witnessed many postponements and disruptions and probably had an impact on fan attendance and competitive edge of most teams — is finally over.

Wihdat scored a 3-0 win over Ramtha to take home their 14th League title. However, for the first time in years, the runner-up and third place went to Jazira and Ramtha respectively.

Even Wihdat did not impress fans this season. Jazira were the best team with an undefeated record in Leg 2 but could not capitalise and strive for the title, while Ramtha, who led early in the competition and had an excellent Leg 1, settled for third. 

The top six battled for advanced positions and prize money with the champ netting in JD120,000, runner-up JD80,000, third JD35,000, fourth JD15,000 fifth JD12,500 and sixth JD7,500. The top two will also represent Jordan in regional events such as the Asian Football Confederation Cup and Asian Champions League.

Apart from the top three, the biggest battle was at the other end of the standings with the relegation of Ittihad Ramtha to Division 1, after failing to score a single win, not coming as a surprise, former champs Shabab Urdun and Faisali could have easily followed suit. It was only in the final week that Baqaa also held on to their position and Manshieh were relegated.

The last week decided the final standings as Jazira beat Sarih 1-0 to hold on to second, Shabab Urdun beat Hussein 1-0, veterans Ahli, who were previously relegated, finished fifth after losing 1-0 to Faisali, Baqaa beat Ittihad Ramtha 2-1 and Manshieh edged That Ras 1-0.

So far, Wihdat won two titles in the 2014/15 season after they beat Baqaa to snatch the 32nd Super Cup. The Jordan Cup semis have now been decided to start on May 15 when Faisali play Wihdat and Ramtha face That Ras. 

Last season, Wihdat won the League and the Jordan Cup while Shabab Urdun won the Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.

Professional League record *:

Faisali (33 times): 1944, 45, 59, 60-66, 70-74, 76, 77, 83, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90-93, 99, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2011

Wihdat (14 times): 1980, 87, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014

Ahli (8 times): 1947, 49, 50, 51, 54, 75, 78, 79

Jazira (3 times): 1952, 55, 56

Ramtha (twice): 1981, 82

Shabab Urdun Ramtha (twice): 2005, 2012

Amman: 1984

Urdun: 1946 

* The Professional League was not held in 1948, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1968, 1969 and 1998.

AMMAN — Jordan remained at 103rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings issued on the weekend.

Jordan is now 12th among Asian teams, trailing Iran (40), Japan (50), South Korea (57), Australia (64), the UAE (68), Uzbekistan (72), China (82), Iraq (86), Saudi Arabia (95), Oman (97) and Qatar (99). 

The top 10 is still led by Germany, followed by Argentina, Belgium, Columbia, Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal, Uruguay, Switzerland and Spain. 

The United States has dropped one spot to 28th. Costa Rica remain CONCACAF’s highest-ranked side with an unchanged position of 15th. Panama (53), Trinidad & Tobago (65), Jamaica (74) and Honduras (76) sit well back of CONCACAF’s dominant trio, while Canada came in 115th this month.

Bhutan is no more the lowest ranked footballing nation. After the memorable double victory in the two-legged encounter with Sri Lanka, Bhutan jumped 46 places from the bottom of the FIFA ranking to reach 163rd in the table.

This is the highest ranking that the country has ever reached since the ranking was introduced in 1993 and also the biggest leap in this edition of the FIFA World Rankings this year. Bhutan is ranked above neighbour Bangladesh (167), Malaysia (164), war torn Yemen (170) and Hong Kong (167).

The Jordan Football Association is looking to finalise friendlies for the team against Lebanon and Kuwait, and possibly Trinidad and Tobago, in the next three weeks. 

Jordan dropped out of the top 100 after two friendlies in which they lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Syria. In their last official competition, Jordan failed to reach the quarters of the 16th Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup 2015. It was their third time at the finals since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972.

Now the team is looking forward to Group B qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup as well. 

The Kingdom will join Australia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh as they seek to advance in both competitions. 

Jordan’s best ever FIFA rank was 37th in 2004 after reaching the Asian Cup quarter-final when they lost to Japan. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

Jordan also had the most memorable World Cup qualifiers in 2013 when they then played the world’s 6th ranked Uruguay in their intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. Jordan lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match, losing the chance to move to the World Cup for the first time. 

The Kingdom had never reached this far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the World Cup qualifiers in 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers since 1986.