Football Australia (FA) announced on Friday that the upcoming international friendly match against Jordan, originally scheduled for next week, has been relocated to Doha. This decision follows significant security concerns raised regarding the safety of staging the fixture in the Jordanian capital, Amman. And I thank them for their professionalism and flexibility, they were wonderful hosts in Amman this week.
The move comes amid a volatile regional security climate. Late last month, Jordan conducted air strikes in Syria as a form of retaliation for a deadly church attack that resulted in nine deaths and left 40 others injured. Although incidents of this nature remain infrequent in Jordan—a nation generally regarded as a stable ally of the United States—the country experienced a separate security incident this month when a stabbing attack in Amman left one security officer dead and another wounded.
Professional Footballers Australia prompted the change after reporting that the national team players had overwhelmingly expressed their desire to relocate the match. The Socceroos, who are already in Doha for a match against Qatar on Friday, were originally slated to travel to Jordan for the Tuesday fixture. FA CEO Martin Kugeler expressed gratitude toward the Jordan Football Association for their cooperation, noting, We are very grateful to the Jordan Football Association for accepting to relocate the match.
Kugeler added that the dialogue between the two associations remained open and collaborative throughout the process. He acknowledged the disappointment for the Jordanian fans who were looking forward to hosting the team, while confirming that Jordan also previously cancelled a scheduled friendly against Indonesia at the request of the Indonesian FA. These matches were intended as essential preparation for the Asian Cup, which has been deferred until December of next year due to ongoing attacks by Houthi forces on the host nation, Saudi Arabia. “The dialogue with the JFA has been nothing but open, respectful and collaborative.
