Flames plunge six steps down
Coach Young Chimodzi did not pretend to be surprised at his Flames’ headlong plunge from position 91 to 97 on latest monthly Fifa/Coca-Cola World Ranking dispatched yesterday.
“We expected it because we have stayed for a long time without playing. It is obvious that if you stay idle, it affects your position on the ranking,” Chimodzi noted about the decline coming a week after the Flames’ away 1-1 draw in Tanzania.
Before travelling to Tanzania (ranked 107 on the April table), Malawi, who are down by six steps, had not kicked ball since last November when they bowed out of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying race.
Therefore, while most immediate results such as the draw in Tanzania can earn a team some weighting on the world table, it is an aggregate of results and strength of opposition over a period of time that have heavier impacts
“My dream is to see the team in the most lucrative band [top 50] and avoid situations where we are unable to export players due to our unfavourable ranking. The secret is playing regularly against big opposition,” Chimodzi added.
However, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda earlier said they opted for Tanzania because the Northern neighbours met all the Flames’ expenses, including return air fares.
The two teams have met thrice since last year with the Taifa Stars always being hosts.Teams invited for friendlies, Nyirenda noted, demand at least $15 000 (K6.4 million at present exchange rate) appearance fees for the whole team in addition to other internal costs of accommodation and transport which hosts have to meet.
The Flames are also down from 26 to 27 out of 54 Africa national teams and fifth behind Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia who lead the southern Africa bloc of 14 teams.
In Africa, Zambia are 13th, South Africa 14th, with Mozambique 20th and Angola 22nd. In Africa, the Chipolopolo sit 59th, a step ahead of Bafana whereas Mozambique occupy 86th place followed by Angola (89t), reads Fifa website, adding that, on the world stage, Belgium (3rd, up one position) have achieved their highest-ever position. Malawi meet in 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers 41st-ranked Guinea, Zimbabwe placed at 123 and Swaziland (175). There are 207 ranked teams.
Former Sports minister and BBC correspondent Moses Dossi yesterday said if the Flames are to improve, there is need for a new coaching set-up, adding that “you cannot maintain the same people and expect different results”.
Algeria (ranked 21 in the world) are still Africa’s number one team followed by Africa kings Cote d’Ivoire (23), Ghana (26), Tunisia (30), Senegal (36), Cape Verde Islands (37), Guinea (41), Nigeria (45), Cameroun (48) and Congo Brazzaville (49) in the continenal top 10. Overall, Germany still lead the world ranking followed by Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal, Uruguay, Switzerland and Spain.
In addition to Belgium and Bhutan, Wales, the Faroe Islands (102nd, up three steps) and Timor-Leste have all achieved their highest-ever position since the ranking was introduced in 1993 when Malawi was 63.
“A total of 135 ‘A’ international were taken into account for the latest edition of the global ladder, taking the total number of games evaluated so far this year to 217. Of the new matches, 25 were qualifiers for Euro 2016, 26 were 2018 World Cup qualifiers [Concacaf, AFC] and 84 were friendlies,” reads www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking-table
