BLACK IRIS AWARDS PREVIEW

Jordan’s top athletes will be honored at the Annual Black Iris Sports Awards on March 23, an annual ceremony commemorating the impressive sporting achievements in Jordan. 

A total of five awards will be handed out throughout the course of the evening with nominees coming from a variety of sports, with two awards being revealed beforehand.

Rana Qubbaj and Eman al Adayleh have already been revealed as winners in their respective categories, Best Sportswoman and Best Young Achiever – Female, with the expert panel deciding their 2014 achievements were unrivalled.

In the Best Sportsman category, the nominees are Odai Al Hindawi (Boxing), Abdel Rahman Al Masatfeh (Karate), and Mohammad Salameh (Muay Thai).

For Best Young Achiever – Male, the nominees are Zaid al Halawani (Taekwondo), Obadah Al Kisbeh (Boxing), and Hamzeh Qattan (Taekwondo).  

The nominees for Best Paralympic Athleteare Khetam Abu Awad (Table Tennis), Moutaz Al Juniadi (Weightlifting), and Abdel Kareem Khattab (Weightlifting). 

Over 125,000 votes were collected for this year’s edition of the Black Iris Awards, as voting was conducted via the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) Facebook page and through the JOC website. This new format engaged heavily with the public, as part of the JOC’s ongoing effort to connect with sports fans. 

The JOC posted pictures of each nominee on Facebook and fans were able to vote by simply liking the picture of the athlete they felt was most deserving. The athlete with the most likes, combined with the number of votes accumulated on the JOC website was determined the winner. 

"The Black Iris Awards are a great opportunity for the community to recognize the sporting excellence in Jordan and for our talented athletes to be honored properly,” said Lana Al Jaghbeer, the JOC Secretary General. "We look forward to having a great event.”

This year’s event will be held at the Hala Hall in Al Hussein Youth City.