Johannesburg-An impressive run in the just-ended COSAFA Senior Challenge has shot Zimbabwe 23 places up the FIFA CocaCola World rankings. According to the latest rankings released from Switzerland by the international football governing body at the weekend (today), the team is now ranked 108th in the world, up from 131 the previous month.
It is the first time in years that the Warriors have risen up the ladder.
Previously, the team has been on a freefall, culminating in it reaching an all-time low of 131 the previous month. This was attributed to the slide in the teams fortunes after its failure to qualify for next years African Nations Cup and the FIFA 2010 World Cup, which fellow Southern African nations Angola and South Africa will host respectively.
Zimbabwe will watch the tournaments from home after an embarrassing qualification campaign that cost Brazilian-born coach Jorge Valinhos his job earlier this year.
However, the Warriors fortunes changed for the better earlier this month when they won a record fourth COSAFA Senior Challenge tournament after defeating Zambia3-1 in the final in Harare.
Togo (70th, up 10), Mozambique (72nd, up 12), Zimbabwe (108th, up 23), Swaziland (138th, up 10) and Comoros (178th, up 21) can also be proud of their recent haul of points, FIFA said.
Meanwhile, European champions retained their leadership of the log, relegating Brazil to second following convincing performances enroute to qualification for next Junes FIFA World Cup.
Post published in: Zimbabwe Sports News