Worst Fifa ranking in 10yrs

Rwanda will end the year in the 134th position on the latest Fifa ranking, its worst position since 2000.  In the lastest rankings, released on Wednesday, the country dropped 12 places, to 134 from122 in the November Fifa index.

Thursday, December 20, 2012
Amavubi players celebrate a goal against Namibia in an international friendly recently. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. The New Times / File.

Rwanda will end the year in the 134th position on the latest Fifa ranking, its worst position since 2000.  In the lastest rankings, released on Wednesday, the country dropped 12 places, to 134 from122 in the November Fifa index.Rwanda has played one friendly match after its quarterfinals elimination in the Cecafa Challenge Cup in Kampala.  Amavubi were also forced a to a 2-all draw against Namibia at home. Rwanda is tied with Kenya after the regional powerhouse dropped four places from 130 to 134. Uganda rose two places, to 84 from 86.The Cecafa Challenge Cup record holders still top the region followed by Sudan (101), Burundi (104), Ethiopia (110) and Tanzania (130). In Africa, Rwanda is in the 40th position.  In 2001, the country ranked 144 and when it qualified for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, it moved up to 99. The best ranking ever was 78, in 2005. The latest drop has been attributed to various reasons ranging from poor performance in continental qualifiers, inability to play friendly matches and unprofessional league.The top ten may have remained the same, but there were a few shuffles elsewhere on 2012’s last installment of the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings.Spain will finish the year at the summit for the fifth time in succession, an achievement which earns them the ‘Team of the Year’ title, followed by Germany, Argentina and Italy. The ‘mover of the year’ goes to Colombia for the second time since the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was introduced in 1993.Los Cafeteros finished 2011 in 36th, but thanks to six wins, one draw and one defeat thereafter – and the 455 points they consequently earned – they end 2012 in fifth. It has also been a very successful year for Ecuador (13th, up 365 points since December 2011) and Mali (25th, up 337 points since December 2011).