Banyana slip to 59th in latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings

South Africa have fallen two places to 59th in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, released on Tuesday.

The drop comes despite Banyana Banyana advancing to the third round of the Olympic qualifiers after a convincing victory over Madagascar. South Africa won the two-legged tie 7-0 on aggregate, following a 4-0 victory in the opening match and a 3-0 triumph in the return fixture.

Banyana Banyana remain second in the CAF rankings, behind Nigeria’s Super Falcons. However, Nigeria also lost ground in the global standings, dropping seven places.

The movement means no African team is currently ranked among the world’s top 10.

South Africa’s latest ranking follows a disappointing campaign at the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco. Banyana Banyana were eliminated in the quarter-finals, a result that also saw them miss out on one of the four automatic qualification places for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Cameroon were the biggest movers among Africa’s leading teams after being crowned continental champions. They climbed nine places in the world rankings and are now third in Africa.

Morocco and Ghana complete the top five African sides.

The largest overall rise was recorded by Malawi, who moved up 49 places to 104th in the world. Their surge followed a historic run to the 2026 WAFCON final on their tournament debut.

Malawi are now ranked 12th in Africa.