Rwanda has attained a record 68th position in the latest Fifa rankings released on Thursday which is the highest position in the history of football.
The Amavubi are the biggest mover on the world rankings, 22 places from 90th position in November following a goalless draw in Marrakesh last month.
This pits Rwanda as the highest ranked country in the Cecafa region, higher that the best ranked country for almost a decade as Uganda sits in 78th.
Rwanda is the biggest mover on the world rankings, going 22 places up from 90th position last month and is currently ranked 19th on the African continent.
Amavubi head coach Stephen Constantine expressed delight at the good news and said, “I am very delighted that we have achieved this. It has been a team achievement and not personal success, the coaches – Ibrahim Mugisha and Vincent Mashami and the players did this. It is absolutely fantastic.”
“This is what happens when you get somebody who knows what to do and you give them what they need even though I have not been given much but we can do things and this is the same with the players.”
The Englishman has enjoyed a good run of form since he took over the top football job in Rwanda in May this year in the middle of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Following a goalless draw against Libya in the first leg played in Tunisia under the auspices of interim coaches Andre Cassa Mbungo and Mashami, Rwanda stunned Libya 3-0 in Kigali to eliminate the North Africans in Constantine’s first game.
Rwanda lost 2-0 to Congo Brazzaville in Pointe Noir in the second round of qualification but a strong comeback saw them win 2-0 in Kigali to force a penalty shootout which the hosts won 4-3 to qualify for the Afcon group stage qualifiers.
The Amavubi however suffered a setback when CAF banned Rwanda from the qualifiers after fielding a dual identity player – Dady Birori alias Tady Etekiama Agiti.
Constantine marvels at the prospect of Rwanda’s ranking had the Amavubi taken part in the Afcon group stage qualifiers, “What if we had competed in the qualifiers? Who knows how we would have performed?”
The highest ranking for Rwanda was 78th in December 2008 and the lowest ranking ever was 178th in 1999. In January 2014, Rwanda was ranked 130th and in May, Rwanda was ranked 131st.
Uganda now sits in second position in the Cecafa region in 78th while the rest follow in that order; Tanzania (105th), Sudan (110th), Ethiopia (111st), Kenya (116th), Burundi (127th), South Sudan (189th), Eritrea (202nd), Somalia (204th) and Djibouti (206th).
Algeria is the highest ranked African country in 18th, Tunisia (22nd), Ivory Coast (28th), Senegal (35th), Ghana (37th) and Guinea (39th).
© supersport.com
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