Football in Jordan started in 1928 and continued on an amateur level until 1944 when they organised their first league. Thereafter, the JFA was formed in 1949.

It was not until recently that Jordanian football enjoyed a strong backing from the ruling royalty with King Abdullah heading the FA from 1997 to 1999 until he became King of the country.

After becoming King and handing over the football leadership to his brother Prince Ali bin Hussein, the development of football in the country accelerated. Youth development became the target and the FA built the Ali bin Hussein Centre to ensure proper training for potential young players.

In addition, professionalism was also reflected in the preparation of national team activities. All their effort seemed to bear fruit with the country’s quarter-final appearance at the 2004 Asian Cup held in China PR.

On the local scene, the competition is between Jordan’s top two clubs, Al Faisaly and Al Wihdat. Both teams have the biggest fan base in the country and also, most national players come from both teams.

The Jordan Premier League has 10 clubs, another 12 clubs in the First Division, 14 clubs in the Second Division and 48 clubs in the Third Division. Competition in Jordan is made up of the Premier League, Jordan Shield and FA Cup.

All the above competitions take place in the wonderful football facilities available in the country. The Amman International Stadium holds 25,000 people while the King Abdullah Stadium can accommodate 15,000 people. These two stadiums usually play host to national team matches while there are another 11 more stadiums in Jordan where clubs play on.

Development look set to continue in Jordan as they became one of the pioneers of the Vision Asia development programme in 2003.