The Amman International Stadium hosted the friendly match that brought together the Jordanian and Iraqi Football teams to commemorate the Kingdom’s Independence and Army Days in addition to the retirement of the Captain Muhannad Mahadeen – Captain of the Jordanian football team and Al Faisali football team. The game, which was sponsored by LG Electronics (LGE) and the Middle East Complex (MEC) – an agent for LGE in Jordan, ended in a draw 1:1 scored by Awad Ragheb of Jordan (10”) and Ahmad Al Najid of Iraq (21”).
The game was attended by HE Eng. Nidal Al Hadeed Vice President of the Jordanian Football Association on behalf of HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein President of the Jordanian Football Association, HE the Korean Ambassador to Jordan Mr. Yeon Shin, HE the Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Mr. Sa’ad Al Hayyani in addition to the principals of the Iraqi Football Association, Al Faisali Football Club and other Jordanian football clubs. Also attending the event were Mr. Kevin Cha General Manager of LGE in Jordan and Iraq, Mr. Osama Al Khalili Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Middle East Complex and Mr. Ghazi Farouq Assistant Managing Director for Marketing at the Middle East Complex in addition to other key members of both corporations.
Twenty minutes into the first half of the match and in front of thousands of fans, both Jordanian and Iraqi, the retirement ceremony of Captain Mahadeen began with him retiring his number-4 shirt to the player Mohammad Khamees and handing over his Captain band to Captain Faisal Ibrahim. The ceremony was followed by Captain Mahadeen presenting recognition awards to various members of the Jordanian Football Association, Al Faisali football Club, Jordanian Olympic Committee, Iraqi Football Association, and of course, LG Electronics and MEC.
Furthermore, a special recognition award was presented to HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein to acknowledge his endless support of the Jordanian football in general and especially his support of Captain Mahadeen.
LGE and the Middle East Complex exerted every effort to create a special experience during the match by hosting a raffle draw on entry ticket stubs which took place during half-time. The draw for a wide array of prizes which included several TV sets in addition to digital home appliances was conducted by Mr. Kevin Cha, Mr. Osama Al Khalili and Captain Mahadeen. The prizes will be handed out on Monday at 11:00 AM at the Darwish Al Khalili showroom located on Mecca Street to holders of ticket numbers: 74, 7125, 13246, 5990, 2477, 7262, 10969, 9884, 25516, 8494.
Commenting on the sponsorship and the football match, Mr. Kevin Cha said: “Being in the frontline as the main sponsors of this event, along with our partners the Middle East Complex, we are renewing our long-term commitment to promoting and supporting the Arab sports, and more specifically the Jordanian and Iraqi. It has been a long-term mission for us as a company to continually embrace distinguished individuals, and from this principle stemmed our sponsorship of the Iraqi Football team, the retirement campaign of Captain Mahadeen, this specific match and others. We would like to extend our congratulations to all the Jordanians on this occasion of the Army and Independence Days in addition to all the winners of the raffle draw.”
From his end, Mr. Osama Al Khalili said: “Being here among this large number of football match and in the stadium to witness the retirement of our very own Captain Mahadeen has been a truly exhilarating experience. We are very proud as Jordanians to bear such promising youth who will continue to successfully represent us in global sports arenas. This friendly football match has truly exemplified the meanings of brotherhood, unification and enjoyment, although we are saddened as we bid Captian Mahadeen farewell. We wish him all the best of luck in his future endeavours and we promise all the members of the Jordanian committee that we will remain supportive of all the initiatives that are dear to their hearts and that bring social and economic benefits to this country.”
Finally, the match was broadcasted live on the Arab Radio and Television Network satellite channel and the Jordanian Sports channel, in addition to a live radio and web broadcast on Amman net FM. Radio listeners tuned in to the match which also highlighted interviews with Captain Mahadeen, Mr. Osama Al Khalili, Mr. Ghazi Farouq, and other players.
It is worth noting that LG Electronics and its agent the Middle East Complex have given sports a lot of their support and backing. Both entities have been the title sponsors of the International Dead Sea Ultramarathon for 14 years running and always ensure their presence among the forefront supporters of any sporting initiative that the local community feels passionate about.
