African countries climb FIFA rankings after Afcon, Bafana still 68th

Cape Town — The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has emerged as one of the strongest FIFA (Fédération of International Football) subsidiaries after the recent African Cup of Nations (Afcon) had run its course in Cameroon.

While international football was at a premium since the start of 2022, there were 24 CAF affiliates active at the Afcon. With regular matches, many countries were able to improve their world rankings. As a result, CAF have joined the powerhouse South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) as the federations who fare the next best with eight countries in the top 50 world rankings.

Presently the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) lead the way with 26 countries in the top 50. Next up is CONMEBOL) and CAF. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) each have four teams. The weakest subsidiary is Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) which does not have a country listed in the world’s top 100.

The top two positions on the rankings belong to Belgium (UEFA) and Brazil (CONMEBOL). CAF's highest rank country is Senegal, now in 18th place after moving two places following their recent conquest in Cameroon. It is their highest ever position on the FIFA rankings.

Senegal's 'Lions of Taranga' is the only African country in the top 20. Africa's next best is Morocco which slots at 24, followed by Nigeria (32) and Egypt (34), the 2022 Afcon runners-up.

The biggest drop on the latest rankings is by Algeria, the two-time Afcon champs who are 14 places lower at 43. After lifting the 2019 Afcon title, Algeria were dumped out of the 2022 showpiece when they failed to advance beyond the group stage.

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