Jordan Olympic football team start Oman camp

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 team began a training camp in Oman which follows a local camp amidst preparations for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship qualifiers, which act as a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Jordan will play hosts Oman twice on December 12 and 15 before returning home to play Iran on December 25, Palestine on December 29 and Bahrain on January 4.

In the qualifiers, Jordan will play in Group E alongside Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan and Syria, starting on March 22. The top team in each group as well as top five second placed teams will move to the 4th AFC U-23 Championship finals in 2020 .

Earlier this year, the U-23 men’s team was knocked out of Round 1 of the 3rd AFC U-23 Championship. In 2016, Jordan reached the quarter-finals and in 2014 Jordan finished third.

The women’s senior football team became the only national team to advance in Asian qualifiers this season after they qualified to Round 2 topping Round 1, Group D qualifiers in Ramallah, West Bank.

Jordan beat Indonesia 3-0, the Maldives 6-0 and Palestine 7-0 to take the lead atop the group. The tournament also acts as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Earlier this year, the U-19 women’s team was eliminated from Round 1 qualifiers for the U-19 Championship. Likewise, the men’s U-19 national team was eliminated from Round 1 of the AFC U-19 Championship. The semifinalists advanced to the FIFA U-19 World Cup.

Jordan was hoping to advance in the Asian event after they failed to qualify to the Championships in 2014 and 2016. It was the fifth time for Jordan at the Championship with the best showing when it finished fourth in 2006 and advanced to the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007. Jordan exited the first round in 2008 and 2010 and reached the quarters in 2012. 

In U-16 events, Jordan bowed out of the Round 1 of the 2018 AFC U-16 Men’s Championship. Held once every two years, the competition serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the top four countries qualifying. The U-16 women’s squad was also eliminated from Round 1 Group A qualifiers for the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship.