Pro League kicks off as Ramtha win Super Cup

AMMAN — The Jordan Professional League kicks off on Friday as the football season gets into full swing with two competitions having been played so far.

With Wihdat having recently won the title of Al Quds Tournament, the recent results of Ramtha and Faisali underlined that the season’s top prize might not be a one sided competition.

In two of the 2022 competitions played so far, Faisali won the 35th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield title when they beat Ramtha in the season opener.

In the match played after Iftar late Tuesday evening, reigning league champs Ramtha upset Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali 2-0 in the 39th Jordan Super Cup. Coaches leading most teams have been replaced, with Faisali’s coach being the first to get the thumbs down following their Super Cup loss to Ramtha. “Our team was ready, but the coach was not. The way we played we will not be able to win this season,” noted a Faisali official who preferred anonymity.

Since it kicked off in 1981, the Super Cup has been won by Faisali a record 17 times out of 25 final appearances, Wihdat have won 14 times, Ramtha three times, Shabab Urdun twice while Jazira, Hussein and Ahli won once each.

In the 2021 season, Ramtha won the Jordan 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. 

While Ramtha won their third league crown last season, Wihdat were 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 have been 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, Wihdat 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.