Kenya drops in Fifa rankings
National women football team Harambee Starlets’ lack of action, due to the current indefinite suspension by Fifa has seen Kenya drop to position 149 in the latest Fifa ranking.
Starlets who looked destined to qualify for the Women Africa Cup of Nations and were optimistic about qualifying for the World Cup, had their dreams dashed after the world football governing body suspended the country due to what it termed as government interference.
The month of July was a busy one for women’s football, with five major tournaments taking place across the globe.
In addition to the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, continental championships were held in Africa, South America, North America and Oceania, all serving as qualifying events for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
Since June 17, when the FIFA/ Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking was last published, no fewer than 221 matches have been played, generating considerable movement in the standings.
And while the top-ranked USA, the recent winners of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, remain the team to catch, the Stars and Stripes have a new pursuer in the shape of Germany (2nd, plus 3). The EURO 2022 runners-up move ahead of Sweden (3rd, minus 1), whose own European title ambitions came to an end in the semi-finals.
Freshly crowned continental champions, England (4th, plus 4) moved up four places ahead of France (5th, minus 2). Drops for the Netherlands (6th, minus 2), Canada (7th, minus 1), and Spain (8th, minus 1) are the other significant changes in this edition’s Top 10.
Like the Lionesses, South Africa (54th, plus 4) also moved up four places on the back of their title triumph at the 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Semi-finalists at that tournament, Zambia (80th, plus 23) are this edition’s most-improved side after surging 23 places. Nigeria (46th, minus 7), who surprisingly went down 1-0 to the She-polo polo in the match for third place, registered the biggest decline in terms of points (minus 69.33).
Another notable improver in this edition is Jamaica, who achieved their highest-ever placing (42nd, plus 9), following their third-place at the Concacaf Championship.
Also enjoying all-time highs are Iceland (14th, plus 3), the Republic of Ireland (26th, plus 1), Portugal (27th, plus 3) and Zambia.
Four new teams have joined the Ranking since June 2022: Cambodia (120th, -), Turkmenistan (137th, -) Timor-Leste (152nd, -) and Guinea-Bissau (169th, -), giving the August 2022 edition a record-breaking 185 FIFA member associations.
