Abuja - Mitchell Obi, the president of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS)-Africa, said on Thursday that the latest FIFA ranking was not a reflection of the Super Eagles' performance.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country dropped three places down to 36 on the world ranking ladder, released by FIFA on Thursday.
Obi told NAN in Lagos that the Eagles, as the African champions, deserved to be placed higher, especially after the team’s recent qualification to the World Cup.
``The FIFA ranking is often so confusing and does not reflect global understanding of how best some teams have performed.
``Nigeria is the champion of Africa and in truth, ought to be better ranked than some teams on the table. I think FIFA needs to review its benchmark.
``We all know that we have a team that can hold its own even against the top 10 ranked countries and we saw a glimpse of that in the friendly against Italy,” he said.
Obi, however, expressed regrets that such development had the tendency to affect the country’s seeding, with the Brazil 2014 World Cup Draws around the corner.
``The World Cup draws is just a week away and this ranking would also be considered when seeding the teams into various pots.
``But I’m optimistic that this development will not affect the Eagles in any way because they have the tenacity to stand against any side,” the AIPS Africa president said.
The latest ranking showed that Nigeria has 710 points, as against the 724 points from the last ranking in October.
Nigeria is placed fourth in Africa, behind Algeria, Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire, which have 800, 849 and 918 points, respectively.
NAN reports that the draws for the FIFA 2014 World Cup is scheduled to hold on December 6, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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