Amavubi back on track

After leaping to 123 in Fifa Rankings THE state of local football is on the rise after the latest Fifa rankings showed that Rwanda had climbed ten places to 123. The country also rose one place to 33 on the African continent. Amavubi’s 3-1 defeat over Burundi in last month’s 2012 Nations Cup qualifier was a big catalyst for the big leap.The wasps started their qualifying campaign on a poor note after back to back defeats against Ivory Coast and Benin. Things got worse after an awful display in the 2011 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) in Sudan where the team had a premature exit after losing all their group matches.But last month’s win over Burundi seems to have restored some belief in the team ahead of the return leg scheduled for June. Uganda tops the Cecafa region in 84th place, Sudan and Tanzania follow in 105th and 112th places, Kenya is 124 while Burundi is 148. Senegal and Madagascar are the big movers rankings on the continent, as they both leaped 18 places.Ghana remains the top-ranked African side and move up one place on the global list to 15th. The Teranga Lions were helped by their 1-0 win over Cameroon in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers last month - the move takes them to 9th on the continent and 51st globally. Madagascar only managed a 1-1 draw with Guinea in the 2012 qualifiers but also move up 18 places - that takes them to 138 globally and 38th in Africa. Guinea on the other hand dropped 18 places on the list down to 13th in Africa and 62nd in the world.Libya’s 3-0 win over the Comoros Islands in the 2012 qualifiers moves them up 13 places and into the top ten in Africa. World Cup winners Spain remain at number one on the global list and are closely followed by the Netherlands.Brazil also climbed to third place knocking Germany off the podium and dropping South American rivals Argentina one place to fifth. Italy re-entered the top 10 for the first time in seven months while Asian champions Japan (13th) are the top team in Asia Africa’s Top Ten (global position in brackets): 1. Ghana (15)2. Ivory Coast (21)3. Egypt (36)4. Nigeria (38)5. South Africa (39)6. Algeria (40)7. Burkina Faso (42)8. Cameroon (48)9. Senegal (51)10. Libya (58) Ends

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Amavubi back on track