Sport in Jordan

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Sport in Jordan is a key part to the country's culture. Three sports cities in Amman, Irbid and Zarqa, as well as thirteen sports complexes all around Jordan are dedicated to the youth and their participation in sports,^[1] providing a positive impact on Jordan's participation in Arab, regional and international competitions. That is especially the case in Jordan's most popular sports of football and basketball, where they participated in the most recent AFC Asian Cup final^[2] and the FIBA Basketball World Cup^[3] respectively.

Various other sports have positively contributed to the country's culture, such as martial arts and their mixed martial arts counterpart, horse riding, swimming, tennis, badminton, handball and volleyball. Rugby is also a sport growing in popularity.^[4]

Football is the most popular sport in Jordan.

The sport was introduced during the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan by the British Armed Forces, who were present with the Arab army at the time.^[5] In 1926, Six-a-side football would be played between the Jordanian and British youth.^[5]

The first sports club founded was Jordan Club [ar] in 1928 and was limited to football.^[5]

1944 saw a new beginning for Jordanian football with the establishment of the General Sports Federation, which the month of April also saw the first iteration of the Jordanian League, as 4 teams participated in the inaugural competition.^[5] Al-Faisaly were the inaugural champions of the competition.

1949 saw the establishment of the Jordan Football Association, who were also one of the founding members of the Arab Football Association.^[5] The Jordan national football team played its first international match in 1953 against Syria, during a football tournament in Alexandria, Egypt.^[5] It would go on to become a FIFA member in 1958.

In terms of its recent history, the national football team reached 37th place in September 2004 according to the FIFA World Rankings, and finished as runners-up at the AFC Asian Cup in 2023.^[6]

Jordan's national basketball team is now being sponsored by Zain and participating in various Arab and Middle East basketball competitions. It joined FIBA in 1957, FIBA Asia in 1964, and the Arab Basketball Confederation in 1974. It joined the West Asia Basketball Association in 1998.^[7][8] Its main league is the Jordanian Premier Basketball League.

Rugby is on the rise in Jordan. There are four clubs in Jordan: Amman Citadel Rugby Club,Nomads Rugby Club, Aqaba Sharks and Amman Saracens

Jordan Rugby Official Website
Amman Citadel Rugby Club Website

Skateboarding is becoming popular in Jordan after the construction of 7Hills Skatepark in Amman.^{[citation needed]}

Although cycling is not a very famous sport in Jordan, the sport is developing.^{[citation needed]} The governing body of cycling in Jordan is the Jordanian Cycling Federation (JCF).^{[citation needed]}

Polo was introduced to Jordan in 1933, with a military polo team being formed that year.^[5]

Hockey was introduced to Jordan in 1933.^[5]

• Jordan at the Olympics
• Jordan at the Paralympics