Sport in Jordan
Sports in Jordan are important to the country's culture.
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[edit] Popular sports
The gardens of Al-Hussein in Amman, the city of Al-Hassan for youth in Irbid and the city of Prince Mohammad youth in Zarqa helped partnerships.[1] Jordanian, Arab, regional and many international championships received high turnout and much attention from Jordanian youth; in particular for football and basketball. Games, self-defense, swimming, tennis, labour and equestrian sports are all eagerly accepted by young people as sports.
[edit] Football
Football is the most popular sport in Jordan, and it is no exception. In every area, from Khalda all the way to Al Hashimi Al-Janoobial, most people on every street play football. Football is becoming increasingly popular in Jordan, especially because of the large recent improvements in Jordan's national football team. The national football team reached 37th in September 2004 according to the FIFA Rankings. Little Leagues and Youth Clubs related to football are also very popular in Jordan, some of which are supervised and run by the Jordan Football Association.
The Jordan League which is similar to the English Premier League, attracts reasonable crowds each week once the season has begun. The league which began in 1944 has seen huge growth in the past decade, with new teams, improved players, new stadiums and highly paid Managers. Under the Jordan League is the Second Division Jordan League. However the bottom two teams in the first division get relegated at the end of the season, whilst the top two teams in the second division are promoted. In doing this it gives teams in the second division a bigger motivation to do well in the league, whilst at the same time makes sure that teams in the first division always try their best to avoid relegation.
In the 2008/2009 season the teams in the first division were:
- Al-Arabi (Irbid)
- Al-Baqa'a SC
- Al-Faisaly (Amman)
- Al-Hussein (Irbid)
- Al-Jazeera (Amman)
- Al-Wahdat SC
- Shabab Al-Hussein
- Shabab Al-Ordon
- Al-Yarmouk (Promoted from second level)
- Ittihad Al-Ramtha (Promoted from second level)
- Al-Ahli (Amman)
- Al-Ramtha SC
[edit] Rugby union
[edit] Basketball
Major improvements are also occurring in basketball in Jordan. Jordan's national basketball team is now being sponsored by Zain and participating in various Arab and Middle East basketball competitions. Local teams include: Al-Orthodoxi Club, Al-Riyadi, Zain, Al-Hussein and Al-Jazeera.
[edit] Tennis
Even though only a small percentage of Jordanians actually play tennis, many more people are interested in watching tennis matches. With the Australian Open finals of 2009 recording huge numbers from Jordan.
[edit] Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a famous and strong martial art sport in Jordan, which reflected in Jordan wining three Olympic bronze medals in the past. The first bronze medal was achieved in 1988 during the Seol Olympics by Samer Kamal and Ihsan Abu Sheikh. Ammar Fahad won the bronze medal in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Another key and famous female Taekwondo competitor is Zaha Talhouni who managed to earn three gold models in the pan Arab competition, which is a record she still keeps. In 2012, Nadin Dawani became the first Jordanian Taekwondo player to be named Asian Champion after winning the gold medal at the 2012 Asian Championships in Vietnam. She qualified for and represented Jordan in the Olympic games of 2004, 2008 and 2012.
[edit] Cycling
Although cycling is not a very famous sport in Jordan, the sport is developing rapidly as a lifestyle and a new way to travel and explore the country especially among the youth.
The governing body of cycling in Jordan is the Jordanian Cycling Federation (JCF).
The cycling clubs in Jordan are:
