Jazira take on Iraqi Air Force in AFC Cup zonal final

AMMAN — Jazira will play the Iraqi Air Force Club in Leg 2 of the 15th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup West Asia Zone final in Iraq.

Jazira lost Leg 1 of the final 1-0 in Amman and now have to beat the Iraqi AFC champs on aggregate to be crowned West Asia zone champs and advance to play the winner from the rest of the Asian zones to decide the AFC Cup titlist with prize money set at $1.5 million for the champion. 

In the zonal semis, Jazira eliminated Faisali while the Iraqi Air Force Club beat Lebanon’s Ahed to qualify to the final.

The AFC Cup was previously won three times by Jordanian teams. Faisali won titles in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007. Other Jordanian teams competing were Wihdat, Jazira, Ramtha, Hussein and That Ras. This year, a Jordanian club again has a chance at the title if they win the zonal final of the second-tier Asian club competition.

Last season, Iraqi Air Force Club won the AFC Cup for the second year running.

Regionally last season, Faisali finished runner-up to Tunisia’s Tarajji in the Arab Clubs Championships, including two wins over Egyptian veterans Ahli while this season Ramtha bowed out of the event in the first round. Faisali were eliminated from the 2018 AFC Asian Champions League (ACL) play-off match and failed to reach the group stages of Asia’s elite club competition and settled to play the AFC Cup. Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. Wihdat were knocked out in 2017, 2016 and 2015, while Shabab Urdun were eliminated in 2014.

Jazira hope to have a shot at the AFC Cup title after completing a good season last year and leading the league with an unbeaten record this year. As the 2018/19 football season kicked off league champs Wihdat beat Jordan Cup champs Jazira in the 36th Jordan Super Cup — the first major competition on the annual football calendar. 

Last season, Jazira finished runner-up to Wihdat who won the league for a record 16th time. Jazira also lost two other competition finals conceding the 35th Jordan Super Cup to Faisali and the Jordan Football Association Shield to Wihdat. Jazira also won the  38th Jordan Cup final.

AFC Cup Champions list 

(Runner-up in parenthesis)

2004Jeish (Syria)

2005Faisali (Jordan)

2006 Faisali (Jordan)

2007Shabab Urdun (Jordan)

2008Muharraq (Bahrain)

2009Kuwait SC (Kuwait)

2010Ittihad Aleppo (Syria)

2011Nasaf Qarshi (Uzb)

2012Kuwait SC (Kuwait)

2013Kuwait SC (Kuwait)

2014Qadissieh (Kuwait)

2015Johor Darol Tazim (Malaysia)

2016Air Force Club (Iraq)

2017Air Force Club (Iraq)