Etihad Club Wins The First Edition Of The Women’s Clubs Tournament (Saudi – Jordan)

The Jordan Football Association announced on Monday 24, July 2023, jointly organizing with the Saudi Football Federation the first edition of the Women’s Clubs tournament (Saudi – Jordan) 2023. The tournament took place in Amman from August 23 to September 1 and witnessed Etihad team crowned champion.

On Friday, September 1, the first edition of the Women’s Club Championship 2023 came to an end. Etihad defeated Amman FC in the final, by the score of 2-1.

8 teams took part in the tournament, 4 from each country. The four Saudi teams were Al Nassr (the 2022/2023 Champions), Al Hilal (Runner-ups), Al Shabab and Al-Ettihad, while the four Jordanian teams are Etihad, Orthodox, Amman FC and Al Nasr.

Stephanie Naber, member of the Executive Board and head of the Women’s Committee in the Federation, handed Etihad team the championship cup and the first-place medals, while Amman FC won the silver medal. The bronze medals went to Al-Nassr club from Saudi Arabia.

Individual awards were also distributed. Amman FC player Bana Al-Bitar was chosen as the tournament’s MVP, while the tournament’s top scorers with 4 goals each were Amman FC player Mary Boateng and Etihad striker Layla Iskandar. Shirine Al-Shalabi, Etihad’s goalkeeper finished as the tournament’s best goalkeeper and Al-Orthodoxi club won the fair play award.

It is noteworthy that the competition instructions stipulated that the teams be divided into two groups, where the first group included the first and third placed teams from the Jordanian Professional League (Etihad and Amman FC), along with the second and fourth placed teams from the Saudi Women’s Premier League (Al-Hilal and Al-Ettihad).

The second group witnessed the presence of the first and third ranked finishers from the Saudi Women’s Premier League (Al-Nassr and Al-Shabab), along with the second and fourth ranked teams from the Jordanian Professional Women’s League (Al-Orthodoxi and Al-Nasr).

The winner and runner-up of each group qualified for the semi-finals. In these semis, Etihad defeated Al-Orthodoxi in the penalty shootouts while Amman FC scored 4 against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr.

By hosting and organizing the tournament in its first edition, the Jordanian Football Association announced looking forward to enhancing the level of contact and competition between the Jordanian women’s teams and their Saudi counterparts, within the framework of the vision of technical development and advancement of women’s football in the Middle East.

The coordination and cooperation over the last couple of years between the Jordanian Football Federation and the Saudi Football Federation included the exchange of experiences, as the Saudi Federation appointed several Jordanian coaches and project managers to benefit from their experience in structuring their newly established women’s competitions.

It is expected that the tournament will be held annually in the future, which will enhance the exchange of experiences and the pursuit of developing women’s football in the region.