The rankings, introduced in 1992, determine the performance of each of the continental body’s 209-team family and are used to assess the progression and current ability of the national teams.
Chris Sambo, a former Premier Soccer League Chief Executive Officer, described the rankings as “the actual position of somebody in a class at school after writing examinations”, meaning that moment, Zimbabwe are number 106 out of a FIFA class of 209 students and lie 27th out of 54 in Africa.
“The rankings have some serious consequences because in most international tournaments, authorities use them to decide whether the team deserve a bye from preliminary stages of competitions,” said Sambo.
FIFA and the continental Confederation of African Football use that formula when drawing up fixtures for competitions like the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
Should Zimbabwe continue their slide, they will soon join the likes of Somalia, Mauritania, Lesotho, Swaziland, Eritrea, South Sudan, Seychelles and the Comoros in preliminary rounds of continental competitions.
“This would not be good for our football, but it seems that is where we are heading. We have to do something urgently to save our football from joining those ranks,” said former Class One referee, Sam Hamandawana.
The effects of this downward spiral by the Warriors will not start and end with that team, but extends to far reaching consequences on the transfer of local players. FIFA says the rankings are now being used for international football transfers among the 209 member associations and by more than 4 600 clubs worldwide.
“Many countries, especially in Europe, do not grant work permits to players from lowly-placed teams and if we continue with our slide, our players will be affected and will never grow,” added Sambo.
Zimbabwe could plummet even further as the Warriors lost 2-1 to a makeshift Zambian side on August 8, in a match played on a FIFA date.
Post published in: Football