Flames drop on Fifa rankings
Malawi National Football Team have paid dearly for their inactivity during the Fifa window break when they dropped from 119 to 120 on the Fifa rankings which was released on Thursday.
Malawi were one of the highest climbers on the Fifa rankings for the month of February, courtesy of a sterling performance at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.
However, despite dropping on the world, they have maintained their position 31 in Africa.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) communications and competitions director Gomezgani Zakazaka, said it was not surprising that the Flames dropped.
“We did not have friendly games during the Fifa break while most of other countries played at least one or two games. Others were involved in the World Cup preliminary round play-offs,” he said.
The senior national team did not have games as FAM did not have money, opting to send an Under-23 team to Turkey for a series of friendlies. Initially the invitation purported that the team would play a cup tournament, only for the organisers to change.
The Under-23, who were also led Marinica assisted by Under-20 coach Patrick Mabedi and his Under-20 counterpart Deklerk Msakakuona, beat Kuwait 2-0 but lost to Saudi Arabia 3-0.
In Africa Senegal, who beat Egypt to qualify for Qatar World Cup, maintained the top spot in Africa and 20-positioned in the world while Brazil leapfrogged Belgium, who have dropped to second in the world.
In the Cosafa region, South Africa are the highest-ranked on position 61 in the world, Zambia 87, Madagascar 102, Namibia 112, Mozambique displaced Malawi on position 119 and Zimbabwe 122.
