Women’s football teams gear up for camps, agenda

AMMAN — Women’s football teams are upbeat as they prepare for upcoming qualifiers and competitions with an uphill battle ahead for both the senior and U-16 squads.

The women’s team has regrouped for the second phase of the qualifying journey to the 2016 Summer Olympics Football tournament with Round 2 Asian qualifiers kicking off in September . 

Jordan topped Asian Group B qualifiers when they beat Uzbekistan 2-0, Hong Kong 1-0, and Palestine 6-0 and qualified to Round 2 where the tough task lies ahead as the Kingdom will join other group leaders Myanmar, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand, following which only 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 Jordanian squad is scheduled to have a training camp abroad in mid-August ahead of Round 2. The Jordan Football Association is also trying to secure matches from August 24-26 against North African teams — Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco — to ensure the team’s competitive readiness.

 It will be Jordan’s second time in qualifications after the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers, when they advanced to Round 2. 

In 2014, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2014, where they were also the only Arab team to have ever qualified. The squad is reigning West Asian champs after winning the title with Iran, Lebanon and the UAE missing the event.

Meanwhile, as Jordan has started the countdown to hosting the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup, team head coach Maher Abu Hantash said the opportunity to represent Jordan would be open to all players adding that “the best would be chosen to undertake the tough task”.

The team is readying to hold a training camp in Germany from August 2-7 which Abu Hantash described as “vital”.

Women’s teams have been competing in all age divisions in the Asian zone. In 2014, the U-19 team was eliminated from Group A qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship. The squad was hoping to qualify for the second time after Jordan was the first Arab team to play in the 3rd finals in 2007. The U-16 girls team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship after qualifying in 2013. 

This week, the women’s team went up one spot to 53rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings and the Kingdom leads all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent trailing Japan, North Korea, Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Myanmar and Uzbekistan.

Newly crowned women’s World Cup champs the US now lead the top 10 table after overtaking Germany, followed by France, Japan, England, Brazil, Sweden, North Korea, Australia and Norway.