Flames up 5 places on Fifa rankings
Despite their inactivity, the Flames have climbed five places on the Coca-Cola Fifa world rankings from 121 to 116.
The development means the Flames could be spared from the preliminaries of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations slated for July and August next year.
According to the rankings released on Thursday, the Flames have also climbed five places in Africa, from 38 to 33.
FAM president Walter Nyamilandu admitted that sometimes it is difficult to understand how the rankings work while former Flames captain Peter Mponda said the target next year should be to hit double digits.
“This puts us in a good stead as we stand a good chance of being exempted from 2015 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifiers. Lack of activity for the national team has been our major concern. We intend to capitalise on the improved rankings with friendly games should funding situation improve,” said Nyamilandu.
The Flames’ highest ranking was in December 1993, when they hit 67 while their lowest ranking came in December 2007, when they slumped to 138.
In July 2006, the Flames were the best mover by 27 places while their worst was in August 1993, when they slumped 15 places.
Ivory Coast’s Elephants are the top on the continent (17), followed by Ghana (24) while Algeria are third (26).
Spain remain the best ranked team in the world followed by Germany, Argentina, Colombia and Portugal.
