The Super Falcons of Nigeria have slipped to their lowest FIFA ranking points total in three years, despite edging up one place in the latest women’s world rankings released on Tuesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Nigeria moved from 37th to 36th position in the global standings, but the marginal rise masks a deeper decline in performance metrics, with their current tally of 1602 points marking a drop of five points from 1607 in December 2025.
It is their lowest points return since June 2023, when they were on 1555 points ahead of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Following that tournament, the Falcons enjoyed a surge to 1649 points, climbing from 40th to 32nd place.
Since then, however, their trajectory has steadily declined. They fell to 34th with 1627 points in December 2023 and further to 36th with 1616 points in March 2024.
Although they briefly stabilised around that position, fluctuating results and limited international activity have seen their points continue to erode, culminating in the current low.
Despite the dip in points, Nigeria remain Africa’s top-ranked side, more than 20 places above South Africa, who sit 58th. Ghana, Morocco and Zambia complete the continent’s leading five.
At the global summit, Spain remain first, followed by the United States. England have overtaken Germany into third place, while Japan have climbed to fifth ahead of Sweden, France and Brazil.
The latest ranking period also reflects Nigeria’s uneven international schedule.
The Falcons played only a double-header friendly against Cameroon in March, losing the first leg before winning the second, but were absent from the April international window, which allows for up to three fixtures.
(Punch)
