Ammon News - AMMAN - Wihdat jumped 32 spots from 273rd to 241st when the International Federation of Football History and Statistics’ ranking was issued on Wednesday.

Both Faisali and Shabab Urdun, who were in the ranking last year, remained out of the top ranked teams in the world.

Reigning Jordan Professional League champs Wihdat are currently second behind Faisali in the league and are hoping to win their 4th consecutive and 12th overall title this year.

The club was recipient of the Mohammad Ben Rashed Sporting Achievement Award for Teams after their impressive performances in the 2008/09 season when they captured all four local titles for the first time in Jordan's football history.

So far this season, Wihdat snatched the Cup Winner's Cup but were eliminated early in the Jordan Football Association Shield. They have also reached the Jordan Cup quarters. Wihdat are also looking ahead to regional activity when they compete in the 2010 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup with Shabab Urdun starting February 23.

A second-tier club competition, 32 teams will take part in the group stage of the AFC Cup. Former champions Shabab Urdun will play in Group A with Yemen's Ahli Sanaa, winners of the Omani Cup and the ACL East play-off. On the other hand, Wihdat have a tougher Group E playing Bahrain's Rifa'a, Oman's Nahda and Qatar's Rayyan.

The top 10 clubs are led by Spain's FC Barcelona, followed by England's Chelsea FC and Manchester United, Ukraine's FC Shakhtykor Donetsk, England's Arsenal, Germany's SV Werder Bremen and Hamburg, Argentina's Club Estudiantes de la Plata, Brazil's Cruzeiro EC Belo Horizonte and Italy's AS Roma.

The top 10 Arab clubs are Saudi Arabia’s Ittihad Club Jeddah and Sudan’s Hilal Omdurman (87), Kuwait Club (112), Algeria's ES Setif (113), Syria's Karama Homs (116), Saudi Arabia's Hilal (117), Sudan's Marrikh Umdurman (120), Egypt's Ahli (177), Saudi Arabia's Shabab (183), Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli (191) and Egypt's Sawahel Alexandria (195).

The top 10 Asian clubs are South Korea’s FC Pohang Steelers (61), Ittihad Club Jeddah (87), Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor Tashkent and Pakhtakor Tashkent (98), Kuwait Club (112), Syria's Karama Homs (116), Saudi Arabia's Hilal (117), Japan's Gamba Osaka (129), Japan's Nagoya Grampus Eight (136) and Vietnam's Becamex Bình Duong (155).

(By Aline Bannayan/ jordan Times)