Moorosi Tsiane
Maseru
Lesotho has taken a giant leap in the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) rankings.
Last month, the national team was 143rd globally but is now ranked 138th among the 207 nations rated worldwide — an impressive movement of five places.
The highest position Lesotho has ever occupied on the rankings table was 120th in December 2003, and the lowest 185th in August 2004.
Likuena, as the national side is known, are still ranked 41st in Africa, and held the same ranking last month.
Rankings not only indicate a country’s pedigree but also benefit nations when it comes to issues such as seedings or getting byes in competitions.
A higher ranking also makes a nation an attractive adversary when it comes to international friendly matches.
The Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) secretary-general, Mokhosi Mohapi, on Friday told the Sunday Express the ranking is still not satisfactory.
“We are still not satisfied with the ranking as their main objective is to be among the top 110 countries by the end of this year, while hoping to make break into the top 100 next year,” he said.
Mohapi blamed Likuena’s poor results against Swaziland last month — in which the team lost 1-0 before drawing 0-0 at the Setsoto Stadium — for the “unsatisfactory” ranking.
“Had we beaten Swaziland, we could have at-least made the 135th spot.”
“But to ensure we reach our target, we will play a lot of friendly matches before which we hope to get once the 2015 African Cup of Nations draw has been made this month,” said Mohapi.
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