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YOKOHAMA, Japan — Injured striker Neymar sat out training for a second straight day Tuesday as Barcelona prepared for their Club World Cup semifinal.

Neymar now looks unlikely to play for the European champions, who are seeking a third Club World Cup crown, against Asian champion Guangzhou Evergrande of China.

He sustained a groin injury in training last week ahead of the Champions League match with Bayer Leverkusen.

Neymar also skipped Monday’s practice, which took place only hours after the team arrived in Yokohama following an overnight flight.

Guangzhou Evergrande, coached by Neymar’s Brazilian compatriot Luiz Felipe Scolari, is on a 28-match unbeaten run and beat Club America of Mexico in the previous round.

But European champions Barcelona are only just getting to know about their Chinese rival.

“Between today and tomorrow, we will know more about the team — our manager, Luis Enrique, will inform us about their team, and our tactics,” said Barcelona’s left-sided player Jordi Alba said.

“But it will be a very difficult and complicated game, and difficult to reach the final. We will have to play very well.”

Guangzhou Evergrande last lost in May, just before Scolari, who led Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, became coach.

The Barcelona squad watched from Japan when the draw was made for the Champions League last 16 on Monday night European time.

Barcelona drew Arsenal in the first knockout stage, to be played in February. It was the third time in seven seasons the two clubs had been drawn to face each other.

Barcelona knocked out Arsenal in 2009-10 and 2010-11. But the London-based club looks to be mounting a serious Premier League title challenge for the first time in almost a decade.

“It will be more difficult than in other years,” said Alba. “Arsenal seems to have improved, especially from midfield and from the attacking side.

“What we have done in the past doesn’t help so much. It is a difficult draw and we will have to do our best to try to reach the next round, for Arsenal also has a good defence. But what has especially improved is the midfield and the forward line.”

Barcelona won the Club World Cup — which has returned to Japan after a two-year stint in Morocco — in 2009 and 2011.

The tournament features the top clubs from FIFA’s six continental confederations and the champion of the host country.

Wednesday’s first semifinal sees River Plate, of Argentina, face Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima, in Osaka.

NYON, Switzerland — Holders and Spanish league leaders Barcelona will play Premier League leaders Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, following Monday’s draw for the first knockout stage.

Spanish league leaders Barcelona, chasing a sixth title, prevailed 2-1 in the 2006 final at the Stade de France in Paris and also triumphed in the knockout phase in 2010 and 2011.

Chelsea, who are enduring a torrid time in the Premier League, will face French league leaders Paris St Germain in the knockout stages for the third year in succession after the French champions triumphed at the same stage last season and the London club had the upper hand in the quarter-finals the previous year.

Another clash between big guns will feature former winners Juventus and Bayern Munich, while 10-times champions Real Madrid were drawn against AS Roma.

It is the game between the pacesetters in Spain and Arsenal which most catches the eye, however.

“We are certain to see a sporting spectacular,” said Barca Director Albert Soler.

“Arsenal and Barcelona have a similar style of play. The fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides with a similar understanding of the game. They will be two great matches. We must have maximum respect for Arsenal.”

“Barca are used to playing under pressure in every sense. But we are the reigning champions and that gives you an edge.”

Arsenal club secretary David Miles said: “It is not easy and the one to avoid at this stage, but it is up to us and we will give them a game.

“Messi, Neymar, Suarez you could go on, but we have our own world class players and I am sure they will be fantastic games in London and in Barcelona.”

There is also a familiar feel about the Chelsea vs PSG tie.

“There is not much we don’t know about Paris,” said Chelsea General Secretary David Barnard.

“You only know if it’s a good draw after the tie. We are ambitious, we have two-and-a-half months to prepare,” PSG Sports Director Olivier Letang said.

Real Madrid and Roma have also seen a lot of each other in the competition, though not since 2008 when the Italians won home and away in the last 16.

“You have to be very much on your guard. If we see ourselves as favourites things won’t go well for us,” said Real Director Emilio Butragueno.

“We know what can happen if you have 10 poor minutes on a European night.”

Juventus could come to regret having blown their finale in the group stage, leaving Manchester City, who will take on Dynamo Kiev, with the better draw on paper.

“Everybody wanted to avoid Barca and Bayern so we are not so lucky but Bayern will not be glad they drew Juve,” said Juventus ambassador Pavel Nedved.

Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “They have a good side [Kiev] and it will be difficult for us. They are growing in the competition and it will be a big challenge but we hope to be ready.

“They are a strong side, but they like to play football and it is just 11 vs 11. We are improving and gaining experience in the competition so we hope to do well.”

PSV Eindhoven will take on Atletico Madrid and Benfica will be against Zenit St Petersburg.

Gent, in their first participation in the competition, will take on Germany’s VfL Wolfsburg.

The first legs of the ties are spread over four days in February, with the returns on March 8, 9 and 15, when there are two matches.

AMMAN — Faisali will be aiming to extend their lead atop the 64th Jordan Professional Football League standings when Week 11 kicks off on Tuesday.

The former champs, who beat Baqa’a 3-1 to overtake Wihdat in top spot, next play Sarih, who beat Hussein Irbid 2-1 to jump to sixth. Wihdat went down 1-0 to Jazira and conceded the top spot ahead of their match against Baqa’a.

Ahli beat Shabab Urdun 2-1 to jump to fourth ahead of their match against Hussein Irbid. Shabab Urdun will next play That Ras, who are down to 10th after losing to Kufrsoum 1-0.

Ramtha were held 1-1 with Asala and will next play Kufrsoum. Last year’s runner-up Jazira will play Asala, who moved to 11th.

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali beat league titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. Apart from conceding the Super Cup, Wihdat were also knockout out of the Jordan Cup this season.

Wihdat have been league champions for the past two consecutive years. Faisali finished at a disappointing 7th place in the League last season, as runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. 

League Standings
(Last week’s position in parenthesis) 

MILWAUKEE — Golden State’s record winning streak to start the season ended at 24 games when the Warriors were beaten 108-95 at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Their 28-game streak, counting the final four games of last season, also came to a halt, ending the Warriors’ quest to reach the longest winning sequence in NBA history, which remains 33 by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72.

Elsewhere, San Antonio put in a superb defensive performance in the first half to set up a big win at Atlanta, Boston ended Charlotte’s winning streak in a result that tightened the fight at the top of the Atlantic and Southeast divisions, while Detroit extended their home winning streak to five by defeating Indiana.

Milwaukee, bottom of the Central Division, was an unlikely candidate to end Golden State’s winning run, but got an all-round effort from the team, led by 28 points from Greg Monroe.

It also helped that the Warriors, perhaps fighting fatigue after needing two overtimes to win at Boston on Friday, were cold from 3-point range. They usually make 13 a night, but were just 6 of 26 from behind the arc in the final game of a seven-game road trip.

A miserly San Antonio gave up only 25 Atlanta points in the first half to lay the foundation for a 103-78 win at the Hawks.

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points for the Spurs, who led 47-25 at halftime. The Hawks’ total was the lowest for any team in any half this season. The previous low was Houston’s 26 second-half points on November 1 at Miami.

Manu Ginobili had 17 points for San Antonio, who have won six of seven.

Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 22 points, including 17 in the third quarter. No other Hawks player scored in double figures.

Boston snapped Charlotte’s four-game winning streak with a 98-93 road win, moving within one game of Atlantic leader Toronto.

Avery Bradley scored 23 points and Isaiah Thomas added 21 points and 13 assists for the Celtics, who responded well after the double-overtime loss to Golden State on Friday.

The Hornets had a chance to tie the game late but Nicolas Batum’s 9.1m jumper off a side inbounds play with 6.6 seconds remaining missed everything, and Evan Turner put away the game with a layup.

Batum’s 21 points led the Hornets, whose lead in the Central was trimmed to one game ahead of Miami and Atlanta.

Detroit’s Reggie Jackson had 21 points as the Pistons beat Indiana 118-96.

Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points for the Pistons, who had six players score in double figures.

George Hill led the Pacers with 14 points. Paul George finished with 13 on 4-of-16 shooting, missing all four of his 3-point attempts.

Washington ended a run of 11 straight losses to Dallas by winning 114-111 at the Mavericks.

Otto Porter scored a career-high 28 points and John Wall had 26 points and 16 assists for the Wizards, who beat the Mavericks for the first time since 2009.

Porter more than picked up the slack for the injured Bradley Beal, scoring 17 points during Washington’s 39-point third quarter as the Wizards built a 21-point lead.

Wesley Matthews led the Mavericks with 28 points, including six 3-pointers.

The Los Angeles Clippers also ended a head-to-head hoodoo by defeating Brooklyn for the first time in eight attempts, winning 105-100.

New York’s Carmelo Anthony tied a season high with 37 points, helping the Knicks rally for a 112-110 win at Portland.

Chicago’s Aaron Brooks scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Bulls to a 98-94 victory over New Orleans.

Houston’s James Harden scored 30 points, leading the Rockets to a runaway 126-97 win that condemned the Los Angeles Lakers to a 13th loss in 14 games.

PARIS — Defending champion Spain begins its quest for a third straight European Championship title against the Czech Republic, while host France also escaped with a relatively unthreatening group in Saturday's draw and opens Euro 2016 against Romania on June 10.

World Cup winner Germany will also be content with the draw, although Italy wasn't so lucky and neither was England.

Spain's other opponents in Group D are Turkey and Croatia, while coach Didier Deschamps' France also takes on newcomer Albania and Switzerland in Group A.

Although Spain is the only team to have won the competition consecutively, and won nine out of 10 games in qualifying, coach Vicente del Bosque remains cautious.

"It's going to be very difficult for us," he said.

Germany faces Robert Lewandowski's Poland, Ukraine and Northern Ireland in Group C, while England has its work cut out against local rival Wales and Russia in Group B, which also contains Slovakia.

"We have a rather balanced group ... which we have to win," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "We're favourites in the group and we want to win it."

Loew's confidence was echoed by former midfielder Lothar Matthaeus, who captained West Germany to the World Cup title in 1990.

"There are trickier groups," he said. "German football fans can look forward to the second round."

But Germany's defence will need to be wary of Poland's prolific striker Robert Lewandowski, the top scorer in qualifying with 13 goals, who has been in rampant form for Bayern Munich.

Italy will not be relishing Group E much, which contains a top-ranked Belgian side — featuring Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester City's Vincent Kompany — Sweden, led by Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and a rejuvenated Ireland.

"Belgium is a great team with outstanding players," Italy coach Antonio Conte said, while Belgium coach Marc Wilmots was equally wary, saying "it's the most difficult opponents we could have."

Sweden vs Belgium looks like a mouth-watering final match in that group.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo will be confident of adding to his record 26 goals in Euros, including qualifiers, in a Group F featuring Iceland and Hungary, but Austria was unbeaten in qualifying and poses a strong threat.

In September, with Bayern Munich's David Alaba playing in a more attacking midfield role, Austria won 4-1 away to Sweden in a performance full of speed and menace.

"[Austria] qualified directly from their group, eliminating the Netherlands in the process, which says a lot about their potential," Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. "Austria is also a team that has been improving lately and has great players, like David Alaba, Christian Fuchs and Marko Arnautovic. They finished their group on a high and we will have to be careful with them."

England will first play Russia in Marseille on June 11 and there is likely to be a heavy security presence after serious outbreaks of fan violence there when England played Tunisia during the 1998 World Cup.

"Russia and Slovakia will be interesting. I have not come across either of those two teams in my international management before," England coach Roy Hodgson said. "There will be plenty of research between now and June and we can find out as much as we can before the campaign. Wales are very well organised, have a team spirit and very strong spine."

Wales' hopes of progressing rest largely with Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale, who scored seven goals in qualifying.

The European Championship has 24 teams for the first time, and will feature a new second round that includes the best four third-place finishers.

France will be confident of winning its group, having beating Switzerland 5-2 in the group stages at last year's World Cup in Brazil.

Karim Benzema starred in that match, but could well miss the tournament after being indefinitely suspended from the national team. He has been charged with conspiracy to blackmail in a case involving France teammate Mathieu Valbuena — who also scored against the Swiss — and Benzema is suspended pending the outcome of his case.

Benzema and Valbuena tore the Swiss apart that day, but the case is now threatening to tear the national team apart.

"A lot of things can happen one way or another," said Deschamps, leaving the door open for a return. "For now he's not available for selection, [but] I don't know what will happen in six months' time."

France last hosted the Euro in 1984 and won it thanks to the brilliance of Michel Platini's nine goals from midfield.

Saturday's draw took place at the Palais des Congres in Paris without Platini, who is the current — though suspended — president of UEFA.

PARIS — FIFA’s Ethics Committee have subjected European football chief Michel Platini to a “sham procedure”, the Frenchman’s legal team said on Friday after he lost an appeal to have a provisional 90-day ban overturned.

Reacting to comments in French newspaper L’Equipe by ethics committee spokesman Andreas Bantel, a statement from Platini’s representatives said the remarks “constituted a patent violation of the presumption of innocence”.

“They demonstrate also that the ethics committee is pursuing a political objective for whom contradictory arguments and the hearing that it fixed itself for December 18 will manifestly serve no purpose,” added the statement.

“Mr Platini, for whom the sanction already seems to have been fixed [decided] by the FIFA Ethics Committee before his explanations have been heard, strongly denounces these practices which showcase the sham procedure of which he has been the object for weeks.”

The committee provisionally suspended Platini and outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter from the sport on October 8, pending a full investigation into their conduct.

However, Bantel’s comments suggest the UEFA president’s hopes of being exonerated and therefore still being able to run for the top FIFA job in the February 26 election are non-existent.

“In this case the question of corruption is well founded,” said Bantel.

“And in supposing the corruption argument is not accepted by [the] judicial chamber, many other questions have been raised about possible violations of the criminal code, such as conflict of interest, disloyal management and falsification of accounts.

FIFA payment

“All this naturally suffices for the suspension of Blatter and Platini for several years. Platini certainly will be suspended for several years,” added Bantel.

“As for Blatter, now aged 79, there’s no difference for him between several years [suspension] and banishment for life.”

Platini, head of UEFA since 2002, was the favourite to replace Blatter but has become mired in the biggest scandal to hit FIFA.

The former France midfielder was barred for 90 days during an investigation centred on a 2 million Swiss francs ($1.97 million) payment from FIFA to Platini.

He suffered another blow on Friday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport turned down his appeal against the provisional ban, although the organisation ordered FIFA not to extend it.

Even a temporary lifting of the ban, that ends 52 days before the FIFA election, would have allowed Platini to attend Saturday’s draw in Paris for the 2016 European Championship.

That showpiece occasion would have given him the opportunity to promote his ambitions.

A final decision by the ethics committee is expected by the end of this month.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter refused to back up Franz Beckenbauer’s accusation that 2006 German World Cup organisers had to pay world football’s governing body a cash amount in order to release a bigger payment back to them, calling them absurd.

Beckenbauer, who was the 2006 world cup organising chief, has said a controversial 6.7 million euros payment to the football world governing body, currently under investigation by a German prosecutor, was made in order to release a payment of 170 million euros back to the organisers to help with preparations for the tournament.

The affair has rocked German football, with Beckenbauer, an emblematic sports figure in the country and a former world cup winning player and coach at the heart of the scandal.

Blatter, in excerpts of an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine released on Friday, said the German World Cup organisers should follow the paper trail to get to the bottom of this affair.

“This is absurd,” said Blatter, adding FIFA’s 170 million euro contribution to the World Cup organisers was never tied to any conditions.

“To pay money to get money? No. This does not exist at FIFA,” said Blatter, who has been suspended as the federation is hit by a broader corruption scandal that has seen dozens of FIFA officials arrested.

‘Meant well’

Der Spiegel said in October the 6.7 million euro payment was a return on a loan via FIFA to ex-Adidas chief Robert Louis-Dreyfus that was allegedly used in a votes-for-cash deal with FIFA voting members during the 2000 bidding campaign for the 2006 tournament, which Germany won.

Beckenbauer denies the existence of any votes-for-cash deal.

The affair has led to the resignation of German FA (DFB) president Wolfgang Niersbach, who was a world cup organising vice president at the time and is now being investigated for tax evasion in relation to this payment.

Niersbach, shortly before his resignation last month, confirmed in a press conference the existence of the payment but could not explain why it had been made.

“There have to be documents what exactly this money is and if there are no documents at the DFB then one should go to FIFA and properly clear this up,” Blatter said.

Beckenbauer, who has admitted to the payment but has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and is not formally under investigation, has twice discussed the issue with the legal firm in charge of the DFB’s own investigation.

A contract between Beckenbauer and former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, now banned from football for life, surfaced last month that was signed four days before the 2000 vote to give Germany the competition.

It offered a series of services, including friendly matches and coaching support to the head of CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, which Warner led from 1990 to 2011.

“From today’s point of view some of it may look a bit strange and maybe one would not do it like that again,” Beckenbauer said. “But it was meant well.”

Arsenal left their best performance for the last game of the Champions League group stage, advancing to the Round of 16 with a remarkable 3-0 victory at Olympiakos on Wednesday. Chelsea also went through on a good night for English football with a 2-0 home win over FC Porto.

“I told you before that it would be the greatest escape,” Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said.

Both Arsenal and Chelsea were trying to avoid following in the footsteps of fellow Premier League club Manchester United, which was eliminated on Tuesday.

Roma’s 0-0 draw against BATE Borisov was just enough to allow the Italian club to edge Bayer Leverkusen for second place in their group. Leverkusen couldn’t manage more than a 1-1 home draw against already qualified Barcelona as Lionel Messi scored his 80th goal in the tournament.

Belgian side Gent advanced in their first ever Champions League campaign after beating already qualified Zenit St Petersburg 2-1, a result that eliminated Valencia in Gary Neville’s first game in charge of the Spanish club.

Group E

With nothing to play for, group winner Barcelona played Bayer Leverkusen with a largely reserve side bolstered by Lionel Messi. And the Barcelona captain came through again, scoring his 80th Champions League goal.

He collected a perfect through ball from Ivan Rakitic and rounded the goalkeeper to score in the 20th. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez leveled three minutes later but it was too little for Leverkusen to advance.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was without Neymar because of an injury and benched Luis Suarez to give him some rest, while Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique didn’t even travel to Germany.

“We had enough chances to win the match,” Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt said. “It’s very disappointing.”

In Rome, the hosts did the bare minimum against BATE Borisov and the 0-0 draw was enough to place them second behind Barcelona. Roma and Leverkusen each finished with six points but Roma held the edge with a better head-to-head record. BATE finished last with five points.

Group F

Olivier Giroud scored a hat trick as Arsenal advanced with a 3-0 win over Olympiakos, overturning an advantage held by the Greeks ahead of the final match.

The France striker opened the scoring in the 29th minute and struck again four minutes after halftime. He closed the scoring by converting a penalty kick in the 67th minute.

“Not many people gave us a chance but we are a real team,” Wenger said. “It is certainly one of my best European results. We had to produce a perfect performance to win and we did just that.”

Olympiakos, which beat Arsenal 3-2 in London, would have advanced with a draw.

Group winner Bayern Munich beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 with a pair of goals by striker Robert Lewandowski.

Group G

Chelsea finally had something to celebrate in their unexpectedly poor season after qualifying for the knockout phase with a 2-0 home victory over Porto.

The hosts scored through an own goal by Ivan Marcano in the 12th minute and Willian sealed the victory in the 52nd minute.

Chelsea not only avoided the embarrassment of dropping into the Europa League, but Jose Mourinho’s team advanced as the group winner. His former club, Porto, finished third and was eliminated.

Dynamo Kiev advanced in second place thanks to a 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Ukraine. The game was played in an empty stadium in the Ukrainian capital Kiev as part of Dynamo’s punishment for racist attacks by their fans in October.

Dynamo will also have to hold the home leg of their first knockout round tie behind closed doors.

Group H

Gent gave Belgium a spot in the knockout stage after beating group winner Zenit St Petersburg 2-1 with goals by Laurent Depoitre and Danijel Milicevic.

Even a defeat would have been enough for Gent because Lyon went to Valencia and beat the hosts 2-0.

“They were better than us and there’s no excuse,” said Valencia coach Gary Neville, the former Manchester United and England defender who took over the Spanish club on Sunday. “We can’t be happy with how we played and we can’t blame anyone.”

Zenit easily won the group with 15 points, five more than Gent. Valencia was third with six points and Lyon last with four.

Mourinho tracks history

Mourinho believes his Chelsea team could challenge for the Champions League this season despite their woeful form in the Premier League.

Mourinho said history showed the favourites often find it hard to excel in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

“It’s obvious a team struggling so much as we are is not obviously a candidate to win the Champions League,” he told reporters.

“But when we won in Porto in 2004 we were not candidates. When we won with Inter in 2010 we were not candidates. When we were candidates, we lost two semifinals with Real Madrid, we lost two semifinals with Chelsea. So let’s see.”

Chelsea’s only triumph in the Champions League, in 2012, came under former manager Roberto di Matteo, when the London side were having a poor domestic season.

Despite retaining the loyal support of the Chelsea fans, who chanted his name throughout Wednesday’s game, Mourinho’s position at Stamford Bridge has come under intense pressure after his side lost eight of their first 15 English league games this season.

Mourinho paid tribute to his players for playing for a win against Porto when a draw would have been enough to secure qualification for the knock-out phase.

“The thing that I am more happy with, apart from the result, is the fact that we needed one point to qualify and the players accepted the challenge to play to win and that is not easy when the moment is so bad, the results are so negative and the pressure is so high,” he said.

“They were brave to accept that.”

Mourinho said Chelsea had enjoyed a bit more luck against Porto than in their English league games after the Londoners took the lead courtesy of a fortunate rebound off Porto defender Ivan Marcano.

“That little bit of luck we never have in the Premier League,” he said.

All of Chelsea’s potential opponents are hoping to be drawn against the Premier League side in the last 16 of the Champions League, manager Jose Mourinho has said.

Mourinho’s men face one of six group runners-up over two legs in the competition’s first knockout round.

The Blues will learn their next opponents after Monday’s draw and could face either Paris St Germain, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Juventus, Roma or Gent.

Arsenal and Dynamo Kiev are the two other runners-up, but cannot be drawn against Chelsea as the rules bar teams from the same country and those that have already played each other in the group stages from facing off in the next round.

“Every team finishing second wants to play us or Zenit St Petersburg,” Mourinho said.

AMMAN — Jordan’s Wihdat and Faisali will represent the Kingdom in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup next season.

Round 1 matches will kick off on February 23 and run until May 24. Wihdat were drawn in Group A alongside Lebanon’s Al Ahed, Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan and a play-off winner.

Faisali were drawn in Group B, alongside Iraq’s Nafit Al Wasat, Turkmenistan’s Istiklol and a play-off winner .

This season, Jordan’s Wihdat will also play Saudi Arabia’s Ittihad on February 9  in the premier Asian competition — the 2016 Asian Champions League (ACL) in the West’s play-off stage. If they advance past the preliminary round, Jazira will replace them in the AFC. Last year, Wihdat were knocked out in the ACL preliminary round by former titleholders Kuwait’s Qadissieh. In 2014, Shabab Urdun were eliminated by Bahrain’s Al Hidd.

Two-time AFC Cup champs Faisali declined to play last season and were replaced by Jazira, who took part for the first time. In 2013, first time AFC Cup competitors Jordan Cup champs That Ras exited the round of 16.

The 13th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2015 will have 41 clubs from across the continent competing in eight groups with the top two from each group going on to the Round of 16.

Jordan’s Faisali won titles in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007.

Jordanian teams competing in AFC Cup:

2005Faisali, Hussein 

2006Faisali, Wihdat 

2007Faisali Wihdat, Shabab Urdun, 

2008Wihdat, Shabab Urdun 

2009Faisali, Wihdat 

2010Wihdat, Shabab Urdun 

2011Faisali, Wihdat 

2012Faisali, Wihdat 

2013Faisali, Ramtha 

2014That Ras, Shabab Urdun

2015Wihdat, Jazira 

AMMAN — Three-time Olympian Nadin Dawani is one of 24 athletes from across the world to have been approved to run for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes Commission, according to a statement by the Jordan Olympic Committee.

The election, with four places available, will take place during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with Dawani’s name approved on Wednesday by the IOC Executive Board. Dawani is a Jordan taekwondo champion and has competed at the past three editions of the Olympics and will be chef de mission for Team Jordan at next summer’s Rio Games.