Financial crises chasing Jordanian clubs before the start of the “Jordan Shield” championship

The competitions of the thirty-fifth edition of the Jordan Shield Football Championship, the first tournament of the new season 2022, will start tomorrow, Thursday, with the participation of the clubs ranked in the professional league, in the absence of the defending champion, the Galilee team, which was relegated to the ranks of the second-level clubs.

Al-Jalil won the title last season at the expense of Al-Wehdat on penalties for the first time in its history.

According to the new system for this season's edition, the participating teams were divided into three groups, the first included Al-Salt, Al-Hussein Irbid, Shabab Aqaba and Al-Sareeh, the second Al-Wehdat, Al-Faisaly, Al-Jazira, Ma'an, and the third Al-Ramtha, Shabab Al-Urdun, Sahab and Mughir Al-Sarhan.

The matches of each group are held according to the league system of one stage, so that the three group champions, along with the best second-placed team, qualify for the semi-finals.

The Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira is the only foreign coach in the tournament, while the rest of the teams relied on the local coach, Mahmoud Al-Hadid (Al-Faisaly), Murad Al-Hourani (Al-Ramtha), Amjad Abu Taima (Al-Hussein Irbid), Amer Aqel (Al-Jazeera), Jamal Mahmoud (Sahab), Othman Al-Hasanat (Salt), Dayan Saleh (Ma’an), Waseem Al-Bzour (Jordan Youth), Raed Al-Daoud (Aqaba Youth), Muhammad Al-Ababneh (Al-Sareeh), Khaled Al-Daboubi (Mughir Al-Sarhan).

Al-Faisaly and Al-Wehdat are candidates

. Diane Saleh, the technical director of Ma'an team, believes that the competition in the Shield Championship will be fierce among all teams, despite the financial hardship, which has become a source of concern for the technical staff and players of the participating teams.

"I nominate the Al-Faisaly and Al-Wehdat poles, as well as Al-Hussein Irbid, to compete strongly for the titles this season because they are the most prepared and ready teams, although the Shield Championship is an ideal rehearsal before the most important competition, which is the professional league that will start early next April," Saleh added.

Salim Khair, president of the Jordan Youth Club and a member of the executive board of the Jordan Football Association, stressed that the new season will start amid successive financial crises that have increased the suffering of all Jordanian clubs, and this will reflect negatively on the general level of local competitions up to the national teams.

Khair adds, "The reality confirms that there is no solution to the financial crises that the clubs and the game association are suffering from without an immediate and direct intervention from the Jordanian government to provide the necessary support."

Al-Wehdat holds the record for the number of times winning the title of the Shield Championship, which was launched in 1981 with 10 titles, followed by Al-Faisali 7, then Al-Ramtha 5 and Al-Hussein Irbid 3, two titles for each of Al-Jazeera, Amman, Youth of Jordan, and one title for each of Kafrsum, Yarmouk and Galilee, knowing that the tournament was canceled 6 times in the years 1999, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018.

The program of the first round, the matches of which will be held at Prince Muhammad City Stadium in Zarqa:

 Thursday:

Group One:

(13:00) Al Sareeh - Salt

(17:00) Shabab Aqaba - Al Hussein Irbid

Friday:

Group Two:

(13:00) Ma'an - Al Wehdat

(17:00) Al Jazeera - Al Faisaly

Saturday:

Group Three:

(13:00) Mugheer Al-Sarhan - Ramtha

(17:00) Sahab - Jordan Youth

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news