SUPER FALCONS SOAR, BUT FIFA RANKING STAYS THE SAME

By: Gyang Dakwo

The latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings are out, and they bring a mix of cheers and sighs for Africa’s top teams.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons, fresh off their record-breaking 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title, have kept their 36th spot in the global standings. Even though they dazzled fans by going unbeaten in all six matches, it was not enough to move them up in the rankings.

Coach Justin Madugu’s side had an incredible run in the 2024 WAFCON. They beat South Africa in the semi-final, brushed past Zambia in the quarter-final, and handled Tunisia and Botswana in the group stage. Only Algeria managed to hold them to a draw. In the end, they overcame hosts Morocco in a tense final to lift the trophy.

With this latest win, Nigeria now holds more continental women’s football titles than any other nation in the world – ten in total. That puts them ahead of giants like the United States, Brazil, and China, who have each won their continental championships nine times.

But even with that historic milestone, their world ranking has not changed since March. Nigeria still leads the African continent in women’s football, though their all-time best FIFA ranking of 23rd position came way back in 2005.

Elsewhere in Africa, South Africa are second on the continent but sits 54th in the world. Morocco, who hosted the WAFCON and finished as runners-up, has slipped four places to 64th, even though they remain third-best in Africa.

Zambia holds on to fourth place in the continental rankings, while Cameroon and Ghana come next. But both teams dropped slightly in the global table as Cameroon are now 66th, and Ghana, despite winning bronze at the WAFCON, have fallen to 67th.

Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Algeria, and Senegal round out Africa’s top 10.

On the global front, Spain reclaimed the top spot despite falling short in the UEFA Women’s Euro final to England. The United States slipped to second, Sweden climbed to third, while England who are now European champions are ranked fourth. Germany, France, and Brazil complete the top seven. Japan, Canada, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea make up the remainder of the world’s top 10.