Week 10 kicks with Hussein, Wihdat striving for points

AMMAN — Faisali maintained their lead atop the Jordan Pro Football League before Week 10 kicks off and extends to Monday on account of the Eid holiday.

This week, standings had a big change as Faisali beat Aqaba 2-0 before they face Shabab Urdun who dropped to 5th after losing to Sahab 2-1. Hussein are still second after a 1-1 draw with Salt who moved up to 9th, Wihdat beat Sarih 2-0 to move up to third, while newcomers Mugheer Sarhan upset Jazira 1-0 to move up to fourth and Ramtha beat Ma’an 4-1 to move up to eighth.

The upcoming week will see Ma’an play Sahab, Jazira face Salt as they strive to move away from the relegation zone, Sarih play Aqaba, Hussein meet Wihdat in a vital clash and Mugheer Sarhan, who are now fourth, face Ramtha.

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

In the 2021 season, Ramtha won the Pro 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 one-time winners 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’s record is quite impressive. After four years in the Pro League, they won their first title in 1980 and have gone on to win the majority of titles since then. Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times each, Shabab Urdun twice, Amman and Urdun clubs once each.