Ahli lead as CFI Pro League heads into third week break

AMMAN — Three weeks into the CFI Professional Football League,teams now head into a break until mid-September for the national team’s upcoming Round 3 of World Cup qualifiers.

Ahli remained atop the table after an unbeaten streak, the last of which was a 2-0 win over Salt.

Wihdat are second after they upset Ma’an 2-1, while holders Hussein trail in third place on pointsafter they were held 1-1 with newcomers Sarih.

Ramtha are fourth after they beat Jazira 3-2, while Faisali who beat Shabab Urdun 3-2 are fifth and while Mughayer Al Sarhanwho beat Aqaba 1-0 are eighth.

Three-time league champion Jazira who are now back to the Pro League after they  were relegated in 2022, as well as Shabab Urdun who first joined the league in 2004 and won the title in 2006 are among teams with fluctuating performance and results.

Following the national team’s matches against Kuwait and Palestine, clubs will return to league action, while Wihdat and Hussein will also have a packed agenda with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Champions League Two, the second tier Asian event which has replaced the AFC Cup, while the top tier Asian title — is now branded Asian Champions League Elite.

It will be Hussein’s 1st and Wihdat’s 13th time the event which was won by Faisali twice 2005-2006 and Shabab Urdun once in 2007.

Teams will play in 8 groups with the top two in each moving to the quarters. Wihdat are in Group C and will play Iran’s Isfahan on Sept. 17, UAE’s Sharjah on Oct. 1 and Tajikistan’s Istiklal while Hussein are in Group D facing Ahli Dubai on Sept 18, Kuwait Club on Oct. 2 and Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi.

Last season, Wihdat and Faisali failed to advance beyond Round 1 at AFC Cup and Champions League respectively.

In the2023/2024 season, Hussein won the crown for the first time becomingthe 9thclub to win the League since it kicked off in 1944. Neighbors Ramtha, won the 2022 title for the third time in their history after 39 yearsas the past two seasons had clubs from the north have dominate the league.

Other competitions, saw Wihdat win the Jordan Cup for the 12th time as well as the Super Cup for their 15th time, whileFaisali won their 9th Jordan Football Association Shield. 

Faisali are 35-time record league champs while Wihdat won 17 times since first joining in 1980. Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times, ShababUrdun twice, Hussein, Amman and Urdun clubs once.