JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe has climbed five places up the ladder in the FIFA Coca-Cola mens football rankings despite lack of inactivity during the month of May. The football governing body on Wednesday released its latest rankings table, which indicate that the Warriors, as Zimbabwes senior national team is popularly known, is now ranked a lowly 101 in thAt 346 points, the underachieving team is 1 415 points adrift of Spain, who are ranked first in the world. Footballing giants Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Brazil complete the top five of the 202 nation rankings.
Zimbabwes footballing standards have fallen in recent years in tandem with a severe economic meltdown that has hit hard every sector and facet of life. Lack of sponsorship as companies cut expenses to survive the recession and an exodus of talented youths to neighbouring countries where wages are better have combined to cripple to the development of the Zimbabwean game.
Critics have also blamed mismanagement and sheer incompetence by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) for exacerbating the situation. As long we have poor administration, we will never do well. The ZIFA House needs to be run with former players not people who do not know anything about soccer, former national team striker Maxwell Dube told The Zimbabwean Sunday.
Zimbabwe will not take part in the 2010 African Nations Cup and the World Cup next year after they were embarrassingly knocked out in the early qualifying stages of the competition.
Post published in: Football