Ronny van Geneudgen slams ranking
Malawi national football team Coach, Ronny van Geneudgen, has claimed that the Flames have performed relatively better and do not deserve to fall on the Fifa-Coca-Cola World Rankings.
In the latest rankings released recently, the Flames plunged by nine step from position 117 to 126.
Van Geneudgen, who has won twice in 11 matches since taking over the reigns in April, said the ranking do not reflect the situation on the ground.
“As a national team coach, I am concerned that we are falling on Fifa rankings. However, I am not sure as to how they come up with the rankings because there are teams that lose most times but they go up on the rankings, so I am not sure if they consider every game we play.
“We don’t need to look at these rankings [seriously] because we are not sure if the counting is really right. If we consider our performance and results where we have played six games without a loss then it is a big question that we are going down every time,” Van Geneudgen said.
He added that his team would continue working hard.
“We should not dwell on the rankings but continue working hard. We have, indeed, won twice in 11 games but four months ago, we were on position 105, and since that time, we have not lost any game. That is where the concern is coming from,” Van Geneugden said.
According to www.fifa. com, under the existing system, rankings are based on a team’s performance over the last four years, with the most recent results and the most significant matches being more heavily weighed to help reflect the current competitive state of the team.
Football analyst, Peterkins Kayira, disagreed with the Flames’ coach, saying Malawi should have fallen by more steps.
“RVG should remember that he is here to coach our team and take it to a higher level. For those of us who know our country, the results are too bad for Malawi. The rankings should act as a wake-up call for us,” the former national team star said.
Malawi struggles to secure friendly games against big national teams due to the poor rankings.
Mozambican Fifa player agent, Bruno Morgado, said Malawian players lose out due to the national team’s poor ranking.
“It is not the rankings only that attract the interest of foreign clubs but participation of local clubs and the national team in big competitions such as Caf [Confederation of African Football] Champions League and Confederation Cup and the World Cup. That [participation] makes it easy for players to be valuable. Players are losing [out] a lot. Talent in Malawi is phenomenal,” Morgado said.
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