AMMAN — Secretary General of the
Jordan BasketballFederation (JBF) Nabeel Abu Ata on Monday announced a full-fledged plan to
rehabilitate various national-team categories.
اضافة اعلان
Ata made the announcement at a press conference held at the
federation’s headquarters, attended by the national team’s coaching staff.
Two friendly matches have been arranged with Saudi Arabia
and Qatar ahead of the
Asia Cup qualifiers, slated for June 12-14.
Jordan will host its group’s matches. The official said
hosting these games would cut costs, adding that all is set to ensure a safe
tournament, in coordination with health authorities.
In a related development, it was announced at the presser
that Orthodox youth player, Mahmoud Darwish, has been added to the Hawks list
and steps were being taken to finalize the necessary documentation with the
international federation.
There is a red-tape obstacle registering another player,
Zein Al-Najdawi, with FIBA, which requires the player to prove he had a
passport before he was 16.
Abu Ata told the press that Najdawi was registered using his
family book at that time, but there is no guarantee that the federation would
accept the family register as proof.
Professional basketballer, Ahmad Dweiri, who plays in
Turkey, will join the national team in the Asia Cup competition, while Dar
Tucker, has sustained a knee injury that will keep him off the court for a
“long time,” according to the JBF.
Abu Ata also announced that former national team star, Wesam
Al-Sous, replaced coach Samir Morqus, who quit, citing difficult conditions
related to his day job. Sous told reporters that he and the federation are on
the same page regarding the plans set for national teams and that he will
deploy all his expertise gained in the United States to build strong identities
of each of these squads and to leave no gaps between the generations of
basketballer representing Jordan through focusing on young talents.
The
JBF official told reporters that a U-16 national team
will be formed, so that it would be ready to compete in the Asian U-18
tournament.
“The calendar of Asian championships is clear to us now, and
based on it, we will start continuous preparations and investment in national
teams in the long run,” Abu Ata stated, commending the capabilities of Mohammad
Hamdan, the national team coach in charge of preparing the “Promising Hawks,”
or the mini-basket program, involving children under 12 at the national level.
The secretary general urged families to send their children to the join the
program, the largest of its kind, and where all the training will be free of
charge.
Abu Ata concluded that the plan is to end this season by
June 30, adding that authorities have been addressed with requests to open the
facilities for tournaments to wrap up.
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