Ostine Arinaitwe
30 June 2011
Amavubi’s poor run in the 2012 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers is to blame for the latest slump on the Fifa rankings.
Rwanda dropped 12 places in the June rankings. Before this month’s 2012 Nations Cup return leg qualifier against Burundi, the country was ranked 122 but a 3-1 defeat by the Swallows have seen the country plummet to 134.
Amavubi are currently bottom of Group H with three points and have a very slim chance of playing in next year’s continental show piece. Rwanda also fell five places to 36 on the continent.Neighbours Uganda are still the top ranked Cecafa team in 77th position.
Sudan is 99 while Tanzania and Kenya are ranked 127 and 130 respectively. Meanwhile Ivory Coast, which tops Group H after a 100% record in the qualifiers, moved above Ghana to become the top side in Africa. The Elephants moved up 7 places, to their highest ever world ranking of 14, as Ghana dropped 18 spots.
The Black Stars’ sudden drop is partly due to the devaluation of the first phase of matches from the World Cup last year in South Africa. The biggest movers on the rankings were Zimbabwe who leapt 39 places, to 87th globally and 22nd on the continent.
Other African sides who made big gains on the latest list are Liberia (125th, up 32), Comoros (164th, up 24), Sierra Leone (95th, up 23) and Central African Republic (91st, up 22). Despite the devaluation of the World Cup matches Spain stay at number 1 overall.
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Rwanda: Amavubi Falls in Fifa Rankings