Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The women’s national football team plays Bahrain today in their second match of the 4th West Asian Women’s Football Championship currently under way in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

Jordan beat Palestine 8-1 on the opening day of the event that brings together eight teams with Group 1 made up of Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan and Palestine while Group 2 has the UAE, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

The October 1-12 championship is the biggest so far. Jordan won the crown in 2005 and 2007 but conceded the title to the UAE in 2010.

West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Secretary General Fadi Zureiqat told Al Ghad daily that the WAFF was elated at hosting the event. “We hope to gradually increase the number of teams,’’ he added.

Women’s football was one of the cornerstones of WAFF and Jordan Football Association President HRH Prince Ali’s campaign for the FIFA vice president representing Asia seat. “West Asian women’s football has developed with the guidance of Prince Ali, and we hope our zone’s teams will advance further on the Asian and international scenes,’’ said Zureiqat.

Ahead of the event, Jordan held a training camp in Egypt where they drew 0-0 and lost 2-1. They also hosted Lebanon in two matches beating them 10-1 and 2-0. Jordan is now 59th in the FIFA Women’s Ranking - the highest ranked Arab team leading Morocco (73) and Bahrain (75).

Jordanian women’s football has steadily gained popularity and made its mark on the Asian scene. In 2005, Jordan was the first Arab team to qualify to the 3rd Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Women’s Championship finals. In 2006 and 2008, they were eliminated from the qualifiers. The national team was the sole Arab side at the Doha Asian Games in 2006 and won silver at the 3rd Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam in 2009.

This summer, the women’s team exited Round 2 qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics after losing all matches hosted in Amman.