Uganda tops CECAFA, as Morocco highest in latest FIFA ranking for Africa

Uganda has remained the top ranked nation in the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) region, according to the latest FIFA rankings.

The FIFA rankings released on December 21st, 2023 placed Uganda in the 92nd position and top in the CECAFA Zone with 1245.08 points.

After the recent defeat to Guinea in their opening group match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers and win over Somalia, Uganda did not improve in the rankings.

Kenya is the second ranked nation in the region and in 110th position in the world with 1181.92 points.

Tanzania who qualified to play in the upcoming TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire are placed third in the Zone and 121st in the world ranking with 1155.19 points.

The other teams ranked in their order in the CECAFA Zone include; Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.

Eritrea who are also part of the CECAFA Zone are not ranked because they have not participated in FIFA recognized tournaments for a long time.

The 2022 World Cup winners Argentina are ranked top in the FIFA world rankings with 1855.2 points, while Senegal are Africa’s top ranked team in 20th position.

However, Morocco will go for next month’s TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023, as the highest ranked side in the tournament following release of the FIFA Rankings, they maintained their leadership position on the continent just three weeks before the tournament starts in Cote d’Ivoire.

This means they will go into Africa’s flagship sports competition as the highest ranked team for the ranking that is released every month.

It also means Morocco finished the year by maintaining their position as the leading African football nation as there were minimal changes in the last FIFA rankings for the year.

Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso complete the top ten countries.

This ranking provides an opportunity to reflect on the statistical performance of the continent’s teams, with a total of 231 matches played throughout the year.
Among these, 91 were friendly matches, 88 were related to CAF competition qualifiers, and 52 were for FIFA competition qualifications.

Algeria and Madagascar emerged as the most active national teams on the continent, each participating in 16 matches.

The full list includes a total of 53 African nations, with Eritrea not ranked due to inactivity for over four years.

Morocco’s consistent performance secured its top position in the continental rankings, reflecting a year of intense football activity across Africa.

CECAFA nations in latest FIFA rankings
92 – Uganda (1245.08 points), 110 – Kenya (1181.92 points), 121 – Tanzania (1155.19 points), 128 – Sudan (1128.74 points), 133 – Rwanda (1107. 04 points), 139 – Burundi (1086.632 points), 144 – Ethiopia (1068.79 points), 166 – South Sudan (989.29 points), 192 – Djibouti (881.18 points), 198 – Somalia (845.66 points) and Eritrea (Not ranked)