Warriors down to 160 in rankings

NAMIBIA now finds itself in the 160th position on the latest football rankings released by the world football body Fifa yesterday.

The Brave Warriors were stuck in 159th position for most of this year, but their inactivity in international football caused them to slip further down. Namibia is third from the bottom among southern African countries, with South Africa ranked the highest in 48th position.Namibia is followed by Seychelles (174) and Tanzania in 175th.This downward trend, which started after Namibia’s success story at the 1998 African Cup of Nations, is evidence of the poor form of the national team in international and regional competitions.Namibia was once ranked in the top 60s, but with the constant swapping and chopping of coaches, inconsistent selection of players and poor administration from the football authorities, Namibia has plummeted rapidly since then.Nations that got hidings from Namibia in the past, such as Malawi, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana, are all flying high on the rankings, with Lesotho being the lowest ranked at 146.Botswana has now made the top 100 in the world and is ranked 99th, while Malawi is in 104th, Mozambique in 130th and Swaziland in 131st place.Angola, which recently qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, is ranked 62nd, while Zimbabwe sits on 54th and Zambia on 57th.Namibia played their last international match against Botswana in the Cosafa Castle Cup in Windhoek on April 16, but have not even played a single friendly since then.The Namibia Football Association (NFA), in an attempt to revamp the game in the country, appointed Seth Boois as technical director, who is also tasked with putting in place a comprehensive youth development structure.At this stage, the national team does not have a coach, but football authorities plan to have stronger teams in place for especially the regional Cosafa tournament early next year.Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Czech Republic moved up to second place behind Brazil in the world rankings, and the entire top 10 has qualified for next year’s World Cup finals in Germany.The Czechs pushed the Netherlands into third place after qualifying for the World Cup via a two-legged playoff with Denmark last week.Spain was the other big mover in the top ten, rising from eighth to sixth after also qualifying for Germany in the playoffs.The United States dropped one place to eighth, but is still one spot ahead of England.Of the top 20, only European champion Greece, Uruguay and Denmark did not qualify for the World Cup.All but three of the 32 World Cup finalists are ranked in the top 50 after Australia moved up five places to 49 after qualifying for the first time in 32 years by beating Uruguay in a playoff.Outside the top 50 are Trinidad and Tobago, ranked 51st, Togo, ranked 56th, and Angola, ranked 62nd.The next round of rankings are released on December 19.Namibia is third from the bottom among southern African countries, with South Africa ranked the highest in 48th position.Namibia is followed by Seychelles (174) and Tanzania in 175th.This downward trend, which started after Namibia’s success story at the 1998 African Cup of Nations, is evidence of the poor form of the national team in international and regional competitions.Namibia was once ranked in the top 60s, but with the constant swapping and chopping of coaches, inconsistent selection of players and poor administration from the football authorities, Namibia has plummeted rapidly since then.Nations that got hidings from Namibia in the past, such as Malawi, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana, are all flying high on the rankings, with Lesotho being the lowest ranked at 146.Botswana has now made the top 100 in the world and is ranked 99th, while Malawi is in 104th, Mozambique in 130th and Swaziland in 131st place.Angola, which recently qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, is ranked 62nd, while Zimbabwe sits on 54th and Zambia on 57th.Namibia played their last international match against Botswana in the Cosafa Castle Cup in Windhoek on April 16, but have not even played a single friendly since then.The Namibia Football Association (NFA), in an attempt to revamp the game in the country, appointed Seth Boois as technical director, who is also tasked with putting in place a comprehensive youth development structure.At this stage, the national team does not have a coach, but football authorities plan to have stronger teams in place for especially the regional Cosafa tournament early next year.Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Czech Republic moved up to second place behind Brazil in the world rankings, and the entire top 10 has qualified for next year’s World Cup finals in Germany.The Czechs pushed the Netherlands into third place after qualifying for the World Cup via a two-legged playoff with Denmark last week.Spain was the other big mover in the top ten, rising from eighth to sixth after also qualifying for Germany in the playoffs.The United States dropped one place to eighth, but is still one spot ahead of England.Of the top 20, only European champion Greece, Uruguay and Denmark did not qualify for the World Cup.All but three of the 32 World Cup finalists are ranked in the top 50 after Australia moved up five places to 49 after qualifying for the first time in 32 years by beating Uruguay in a playoff.Outside the top 50 are Trinidad and Tobago, ranked 51st, Togo, ranked 56th, and Angola, ranked 62nd.The next round of rankings are released on December 19.