Football is recognized as a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide that has taken sportsmanship and marketing to new levels, yet it seems that the Jordan national football team, known by its fans as Nashama, has yet to really get the chance to play. Dana Baradei reports.

In essence all the elements are in place: Jordan boasts a national team, 12 premiere teams, and a throng of local teams competing in the Jordan League, Jordan Cup, Jordan Association Shield and Jordan Super Cup. But according to officials, the current Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ranking for the Jordanian team is 96th (out of 200 worldwide) as of September 2006. Internationally, footballers are not just better paid than most people, they are also governed by a different set of employment rules that guarantee job security. Locally, dedicated coaches and players are few because both of these qualities are virtually nonexistent. Furthermore, anyone in the industry will list the same, additional set of challenges that are hindering the team from further development.  A significant shortage of funds is the number one complaint, and football clubs scramble to make ends meet. State support, although available, only covers a fraction of the costs of the industry. Professionals complain that there is a lack in necessary resources in terms of availability, quality, and quantity of gear, football fields, and training material.

Show me the money
Simply put, clubs need money to make money, and the meager JD1 it costs for a football ticket combined with, at best, 50% audience attendances are hardly significant monetary contributions when compared to average attendances of English football divisions at around 35,000 where the average ticket cost is approximately JD30.
Some clubs have managed to bring in additional funding on their own. Last year, the Faisali Club was awarded JD350,000 by the Asian Football Federation (AFC) for winning the AFC Cup. Wehdat was awarded JD210,000 by the Arab Champion’s League ACL for making it as far as the semi-finals in the 2005 ACL Cup. Promising, yet a far cry from the average JD12.7 million Chelsea and Manchester United earned in prize money each in 2005.
A considerable sum of financial support that clubs depend on comes mainly through sponsorships from the private sector, such as the National Resources Investment and Development Corporation (Mawared), United Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company and Fastlink (they both declined to give out figures) in addition to individual donations from private groups. The Arab Bank and Pepsi, have also been active sponsors in the past.
Other activities that keep the teams afloat include company marketing and advertising in stadiums and granting exclusivity rights to broadcast the premierships to satellite television networks, like the Saudi Arabia-based Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) and Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC). This year, ART purchased exclusivity rights to broadcast all JFA games for $1 million. A fair sum but nothing compared to the television rights for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, which were sold for a minimum of $1.7 billion (an eightfold increase on the deal covering the previous three championships).

Going professional
Perhaps the number one challenge for the Jordan Football Association (JFA), which acts as the governing body for all local football activities, is the financial inability to support professional athleticism.  In professional sports, athletes receive payment for their performance and, as a result, footballers can dedicate more time and effort to developing a career in sports. Theoretically, athletes should have the resources to maximize their talent, which should in turn make for a much more interesting game and further develop the popularity of the sport.  JFA admits that although some sources of income do exist they are not enough to cover all of the expenses the industry incurs. JFA officials have been able to grant some players paid sabbaticals from their employers. However, the rest of the players, most of whom are employees of banks, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), or the army, are not willing to quit their day jobs just yet and make do with the JD300 a month allowance that the government grants only during football season. As one former Faisali player explained, “Even if you have the talent and the drive to excel, without money or proper resources, it doesn’t make sense to dedicate your entire life to football.”
Another key ingredient in creating a triumphant football team is having a place to practice and the country still suffers from a lack in the number and quality of football fields for professional training. “Unfortunately, our teams have very little to work with in comparison to other Middle Eastern teams especially those in the Gulf, where each team has their own stadium and up to six or seven training fields,” explained Mr. Ahmad Qteishat, director of the Jordanian leagues.

GAM has consented to provide approximately 30,000 square meters of land on which football fields are to be built for some major local clubs. In fact, in cooperation with Jordan’s Higher Council for Youth, GAM has provided land for three major football clubs: Faisali, Wehdat, and Shabab El-Urdun (Jordan’s Youth team) and the government has granted the estimated JD200,000 per field it costs to fully equip the allotted plots of land. Still, more is needed; Nidal Hadid, vice president of JFA and former mayor of Amman, has made unsuccessful attempts to introduce two new stadiums to the four existing ones (Amman International Stadium, King Abdullah Stadium, Prince Mohammed Stadium and Prince Hasan Stadium), due to lack of financial support.

Private affair
Football is the local spectator sport of choice; a “sport for the people.” Fortunately, some sponsors are recognizing the true meaning of this, and for different reasons, are chipping in. More popularity means more exposure, which is ultimately one of the top priorities for these companies. The main reason why investors are funding football as opposed to basketball, another local sport that is progressing at a steady rate but smaller scale:  basketball teams are not as widely acknowledged. Fastlink has created a powerful basketball team comprised of local and international players, creating a squad that is virtually unparalleled in their skill to other local basketball clubs. As one JFA official, who chose to remain anonymous, stated,  “There is no competition worth investing in, so why bother?”

Earlier in July, Mawared, the largest state-owned real estate developer geared towards inner city development and urban regeneration, signed a five-year JD500,000 annual agreement with one of the country’s Premiere League teams, Al Jazeera. Mawared chose the 60-year-old football club, which is currently taking steps to re-instate its presence as one of the leading sports clubs in Jordan. The sponsorship will encourage the recruiting of a number of new key players, investing in training and developing the existing grass roots teams as part of His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative to support the activities of the local community. The new relationship promises to rectify many of the managerial pitfalls and financial fallbacks the popular club had suffered from over the years; securing a football field from the GAM in the Ghamadan area is currently on its agenda.
Fastlink sponsors the national football team in addition to Faisali and Wehdat. “Given the fact that the youth make up more than 50% of Jordan’s population, we sought to channel much of our time and efforts on athletes, preparing them to take their next steps as professional football players in various sports clubs,” explained Suzanne Afaneh, corporate communications director at Fastlink. Fastlink did not give out any figures but did explain that a lump sum has been given to the Wehdat Club to be distributed to all their sports teams (including basketball and football) as they see fit. Fastlink acknowledges that although there have been some achievements among Jordanian athletes, there is a lot that could be done, especially from private sector companies, such as increasing their support and expanding sponsorship for different sports teams.
The national team has celebrated numerous, albeit sporadic, small victories, but unless additional resources are provided, the question as to whether Jordan will ever bring home the cup will remain, at best, a far-fetched possibility. United in sentiment and for love of the game, the crowds remain hopeful, but this is scarcely enough to keep the ball rolling.