By Adedapo Adesanya
The Super Falcons of Nigeria have risen one place from the 38th position to 37th in the latest ranking by the Federation of the International Football Association (FIFA).
The move came despite the team’s inactivity in the last 14 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down both sporting and economic activities across the world.
The Nigerian senior women football team, who are also the African Women Cup of Nations defending champions, had a 1-1 draw against Cote d’Ivoire at their last outing in October 2019. This later led to the country’s failure to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
According to the FIFA rankings, other African countries like Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania also rose some steps in the new rankings.
Cameroon still occupied the 51st position despite losing the coveted Olympic Games ticket to Zambia on their away goal rule, following a 3-3 draw on aggregate in the final qualifying stage in March.
South Africa remained in the 53rd position in spite of winning a record fourth consecutive COSAFA Women’s Cup title last month after beating Botswana.
In Africa, Nigeria still ranks as the best, with Cameroun, South Africa, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire (61st), Tunisia (71st), Morocco (77th), Mali (78th), Algeria (79th) and Senegal (80th) occupying the top 10 spots.
The reigning world champions, the United States, still remain the highest-ranked team in the world, followed by Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden in the top five of the rankings.
Botswana, Comoros, Mauritius, Eswatini and Madagascar were rewarded with rises of 17 spots following their activities in 2020, with only 28 of 56 nations in Africa ending the year on the rankings.
The most significant point-increase (+37) came from Malta, who ascended 16 places thanks, in particular, to away wins in Georgia (114th) and Israel (68th).
This was the final rankings released this year. A new version of the women’s ranking is expected to be announced on March 26, 2021.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Dipo Olowookere