Jordan Basketball Federation

About Us

Brief History

Basketball in Jordan goes back to the year 1937, when its flag was carried by Mr. Hassan Siraj who came from Beirut after finishing his university studies there. He spread the game at Al-Isailieh school which was close to the roman amphitheater at that time, by teaching the students the skills and rules of the game. That experience was spread to different parts of the kingdom, al-salt, Al-Kerak and Irbed. 

The Forties basketball in Jordan took a different shape as the sport was taken from the schools to the Sports Clubs such as Al-Ahli, Al-Faisali clubs and many others started adopting the sport. All basketball activities and tournaments were friendly up until 1952 when the first tournament was held electricity company was received the first place and Al-Ahli Club had second place. 

The Fifties, basket-ball witnessed tremendous developments.The first union for the basketball players was formed presided by Mr.Abdullah Abu Nawar. In 1957 the Union was affiliated International basketball union(FIBA) 

The Sixties, Jordan basketball was affiliated with the Asian basketball union  and participated in the Arab sports tournament held in morocco in 1961 and the Arab sports tournament held in Cairo 1965. Jordan International referees:  (Rimon Zabaneh and Said Omar) 1962, ( Thihni Rafat and Mamdouh Khourma)1963, ( Nadi Khouri and Moh`d Bazadogh) in 1965.

The Seventies, a mini-basketball center was opened and was affiliated to the Arab union in 1974. Players from the center participated in the first Arab championship held in Baghdad in 1974, the Arab sports tournament held in Damascus in 1976 and in the youth championship in 1978.

The Eighties, Known as the Golden Era for Jordanian basketball, this period witnessed holding the international refereeing, training tournaments and meetings, and hosting the Asian championship for the first time in the history of Jordan. Jordan also participated in the Arab sports tournament in morocco and won the Gold medal.

The Nineties, the development of the Jordanian basketball continued and participated in the Arab and Asian tournaments and held many internationally and local refereeing and training tournament. This period also witnessed hosting the youth championship in 1990 and the clubs championship for men and women in the same year. Jordan also participated in the Asian clearings for the youth and youngsters in which our team qualified for the world cup finals. 

In 2003 Basketball in Jordan was transformed from an amateur to a professional sport. And the Summer of 2009carried the proudest moment for Jordanian basketball fans, when the Senior National Team made the achievement that 6,000,000 Jordanians dreamed about when they qualified for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. It is the first time an accomplishment of this magnitude is made by a Jordanian National Team in on a Global competitive level. The qualification took place due to the win against Lebanon to clinch the 3rd place in 2009 FIBA Asian Championship. 

National Team "Nashama" proved that the achievement made in 2009 wasn't out of luck, as in 2011 they finished in the 2nd Place and made it through to the final game of 2011 FIBA Asian Championship but lost in the last seconds by only 1 point against the host China, they didn't win a title they deserved but won the respect of the basketball world, this achievement qualified the Jordan National Basketball team to play in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men in Venezuela (2 – 8 July 2012). 

 


Key Facts about Basketball In Jordan:
  • Basketball is the second most popular sport in Jordan
  • Basketball has a diverse target audience
  • Basketball has a mixed gender fan base which provides a clean and family friendly experience
  • The Jordanian National Basketball Team qualified to the 2010 World Cup for the first time – which is a first for a team sport in Jordan
  • The Jordanian National Basketball Team qualified to the pre Olympics tournament 2012

Historical Notes
  • Basketball in Jordan started in 1937 when by Hussein Siraj influenced by his university studies in Beirut.
  • Al Asbaliah school near the Roman amphitheater in Amman were the pioneers when it came to scholl basketball before the game spread to other schools in the kingdom in Salt, Irbid, Karak and finally into sports clubs.
  • Al Ahli club was the first club to adopt the basketball game in 1944, followed by Faisali, Jordan Club, and then Orthodox Club.
  • The First Official basketball federation (JBF) was established 1957 and was preceded by a preparatory committee of the Sports Federation Committee in 1952
  • Jordan joined FIBA in 1957 and joined the FIBA Asia in 1968. Jordan joined the Arab Union for basketball in 1974 and the Federation of Western Asia (WABA) in 1998.
  • The first official local basketball championship in 1952 won by the Electricity Club.
 
 

Historical Participation : 
  • Participation in Pan Arab Games: 1953 Alexandria, 1961 Morocco, 1965 Cairo, 1976 Damascus, 1985 Morocco, 1992 Damascus, 1997 Beirut, 1999 Oman, 2007 Alexandria.
  • Participation in the Arab Championships for men: 1974 Baghdad, 1978 Cairo, 1983 Oman, 1987 Cairo, 1989 Damascus, 2005 Jeddah, 2007 Alexandria, 2008 Tunisia.
  • Participation in the Asian Championships for men: 1983 Hong Kong, 1985 Malaysia, 1987 Bangkok, 1991 Japan, 1993 Jakarta, 1995 Korea, 1997 Saudi Arabia, 2003 China, 2007 Japan, 2009 China and 2011 China.
  • Participation in the Asian Games: 1986 Korea, 2006 Qatar, 2010 China.
  • Participation in the Asian Youth Championships: 1993 Hong Kong, 1995 Philippines 2009 Malaysia
  • Participation in the Arab Women's Championships: 1983 Oman.
  • Participation in the Asian Championships for women: 1995 Japan.
  • Hosts of the King Abdullah International Basketball Championship for Men in Amman: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011
  • Participated in the FIBA World Cup 2010, in Turkey
  • Participated in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, held in (Caracas, Venezuela) for (London 2012)

 

Notable  Achievements  

  • National Team

 - Qualified to the pre Olympics tournament (London 2012)

 - Silver Medal in the 26th FIBA Asia Championship for men in China (2011).

 - Qualification to the World Cup for men in Turkey (2010).

 - Bronze Medal in the 25th FIBA Asia Championship for men in China (2009).

 - Gold medal in the William Jones Cup in 2007, 2008 and Second place in 2009.

 - Gold medal in the tournament's King Abdullah in Amman years (2004, 2006, 2011).

 - Gold medal at the Arab Championship in 2007 in Alexandria.

 - Gold medal at the Qatar International Championship in 2004. 

 - Gold medal for the West Asian qualifiers for men in 2004 in Iran.

 - Gold medal qualifying West Asia Youth in 2003 in Amman.

 - Qualification to the World Youth Cup in 1995 in Greece.

 - Gold medal in the Pan-Arab Games in 1985 in Morocco.

 - Held the title of Golden Sword in the military tournament in 1985 in Abu Dhabi.

 

  • Clubs

- Gold medal in the Asian Championship for clubs in 2006 in Kuwait (Zain/FastLink).

 - Gold medal in the Arab Championship for clubs in 2008 in Amman, Jordan (Zain).

 - Gold medal in the qualifiers for the West Asian Championship in Amman in 1999 (Orthodox Club).