Ghana showed up 54th in the Fifa world ranking and 8th on the continent.
The nation did no better the month before, ramping up the same positions in the FIFA world ranking and at CAF level, except in January when we clocked 50th/8th, which per the perking, we can accept as an improvement.
I decided to peruse the world rankings for the past decade in a hopeful pursuit of proof that our football is indeed improving. What is available is to the contrary; we are groping in a huge sinkhole and should be looking for real ground to clutch at.
YEAR | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2017 | 54 | 45 | 43 | 45 | 45 | 49 | 50 | 50 | 52 | 52 | 51 | 50 |
2016 | 33 | 41 | 41 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 43 | 45 | 53 | 53 |
2015 | 37 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 34 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 30 | 33 |
2014 | 24 | 37 | 35 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 36 | 33 | 35 | 37 | 37 |
2013 | 26 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 |
2012 | 26 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 30 |
2011 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 33 | 36 | 36 | 37 | 33 | 29 | 29 |
2010 | — | 27 | 28/31 | 32 | 32 | — | 23 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
2009 | 25 | 35 | 34 | 31 | 31 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 38 | 37 | 34 |
2008 | 43 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 25 | 26 | 25 |
While the numbers bear up the truth that our football has seen happy days within the past decade when the FIFA world ranking, if it is anything to go by, showed us strong and good with repeated positions among the world’s best, it also does not hide our real, pitiable sight and size today.
Ten years ago we were showing up at 14th, our best ever in the FIFA world ranking within the period, but are now doing 54th, our worst also. Our deterioration has been consistent.
Like most nations and as is natural, we have been vacillating on the FIFA world ranking, however the clear trend is that we are persistently failing. Tunisia, Senegal, Congo DR, Morocco, Egypt, Cameroon, and Nigeria are our better performing competitors.
-Graphic