‘BIRDS’ TOPPLE LEOPARD IN CAF RANKINGS

MBABANE – Mbabane Swallows are the highest-ranked Eswatini side in the African continent.

Latest standings show that they have since toppled Royal Leopard who were ranked 54th after breaking into the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rankings early this year.
This is according to information  sourced from kickalgor.com. Mbabane Swallows, who were ranked 70th two months ago, have dropped eight places but are now ranked higher than all Eswatini teams. Interestingly on the website, which ranks club according to their performance in their respective leagues, only four teams from Eswatini are ranked and these are Swallows, Mbabane Highlanders, Leopard and Young Buffaloes. The teams are given points and are ranked against the best teams in Africa.

position

Umkhonto KaShaka, who made history by reaching the group stages of the CAF Champions League back in 2018, are ranked position 78, with 1 922 points. The second best local team to be ranked in the website is Leopard on position 84, after accumulating 1 837 points. Young Buffaloes are the third Eswatini team on position 156, after getting 147 points, with Mbabane Highlanders placed in position 157, after amassing 146 points. These are the teams that have played continental football in the last few years. The number one ranked team, according to the site, are Al Ahly of Egypt and are closely followed by Wydad Casablanca of Morocco. Neighbouring country’s side, South Africa have their teams ranked fourth, 22nd and 27th. That is Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, respectively.

FIFA-accredited agent Dingane Maduma said as much as this was good, there was room for improvement. “We need to improve. These rankings give clubs a chance to sit down and strategise and put some of their structures in place,” said Maduma. He said that in order for more teams to be in the rankings, they needed to have more facilities and be more professional in their approach. He stressed on the need for teams to comply to CAF licensing requirements and have the much needed facilities to stand a chance to break into the rankings. He also highlighted that the country still had a long way to go to compete with Africa’s best teams.

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