Kenya climbs places in FIFA ranking after Cecafa win

Kenya has climbed five places in the FIFA ranking index, following the outcome of the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup which Harambee Stars won on penalties against Zanzibar Heroes on December 17, last Sunday.

According to the latest FIFA rankings, that were released on December 2017, Kenya has moved from position 111 last held as of November last month to position 106 in the world.

However, this is still one of the worst positions Kenya has posted this year. In June, the country was ranked at position 74 before moving down 10 places to position 84. FIFA further indicates that Kenya’s average position since the ranking began has been at 101. A development that could only mean that Kenya has to post impressive performances in the African Nations Cup Qualifiers to get into top 100.

The improvement in the ranking index can be attributed to the performance of Harambee Stars in the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, where they finished the tournament undefeated.

Kenya opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Rwanda before proceeding to get goalless draws against Libya and Zanzibar. With the qualification for the semifinal hanging on a thread, Stars fought and won against Tanzania in the last group stage match to finish top of group B.

After beating a tough Burundian side by a solitary goal, Stars met Zanzibar Heroes in the final who forced van extra time before Kenya 5-3 on penalty kick.

Uganda is still leading other East African countries in posting better ranking. At the moment, Uganda stands position 75 worldwide. This perhaps could be tied to the splendid performance that the Cranes staged in the World Cup Qualifiers, in which they won a ticket by finishing second in the group to participate in 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Senegal is the latest best African performer, with the world’s soccer governing body placing the Lions of Teranga at position 23 worldwide. Tunisia comes at position 27 and second in the continent.