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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE national women’s football team have remained stagnant, outside the top 100, in the latest rankings released by FIFA.
The Mighty Warriors are ranked 119 globally and 17th in Africa. The women’s team has been inactive for the past one-year and, just like the men’s side, they have paid a heavy price for their idleness.
At their peak, the Mighty Warriors were ranked 82 globally in 2013. But they have taken a nosedive since their participation at the Rio Olympics Games in 2016.
They were ranked 83rd when they took part at the Olympics.
Sadly, they have been shut out of the top 100 for the past three years. The rankings will also be at the stake when they compete at the annual COSAFA Women’s Championships to be held in South Africa next month.
The Mighty Warriors were drawn in Group B against neighbours Botswana, guests Tanzania and South Sudan.
The regional tournament will run from September 15 to 26 at Nelson Mandela Bay, in South Africa.
But while Zimbabwean women’s football has been suffering, their neighbours Zambia have been enjoying the spotlight. The Copper Queens, who represented the continent at the just-ended Olympic Games, are the biggest movers on the overall rankings.
Zambia women’s football has been on the rise while the Mighty Warriors are a pale shadow of the team which reached dizzy heights in 2016 by qualifying for the Olympics.
Shepolopolo shot back into the top 100 and settled into their highest ever position thanks to their 4-4 draw against world number 17 China in the group phase at Tokyo 2020.
This result was good for Zambia as the two countries were separated by nearly 90 ranking places before the game.
Zambia lost 10-3 to Netherlands and 1-0 to Brazil in the other fixtures at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Zambians are now 12th on the continent while the Nigeria women’s side maintained their top ranking, followed by Cameroon, South Africa, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
The United States, who were bronze medallists at the Tokyo Olympics, remained the best ranked side in the women’s game while the Games’ silver medallists, Sweden, move into second.
Olympic champions Canada moved two places up and are now sixth in the global rankings.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on December 10.
Online Reporter