The very latest FIFA world rankings throw up an interesting conondrum for African football. The 2nd highest ranked team are Ghana, who made it to the last eight in South Africa 2010, and stand at 23rd in the world. Third highest, Ivory Coast, ranked at 26, who went out in the group stages. Other African sides who went out in the group stages, are respectively ranked 30 (Nigeria); 33 (Algeria); 40 (Cameroon); and 66 (South Africa). So we’re missing something here. Who are the current top ranked African side in the world? A little clue. They didn’t make it to the World Cup. But currently, FIFA rank them as the 9th – yes, that’s 9th, above the likes of France and Italy. It’s Egypt – would why should this be? They didn’t even make it to the World Cup, albeit after ending up equal top of their qualifying group and then utterly unexpectedly losing a play off match 1-0 to Algeria. So how can they possibly be in the Top Ten of world football?
Because their record as a national team, stretching back over the last four or five years, is incredible. It was one of the biggest shocks of 2010 that Egypt didn’t make the finals. But dig beneath their international record, and it’s clear why Egypt are in the vanguard of African nations – and why I predict they will do great things over the next decade. Their Premier League is the best in Africa. Their two top sides Al-Ahly and El Zamalek share the Cairo Stadium and both regularly pull in 75,000 for home games, and contribute many of the players to the Egypt national side and all their Under 21 and youth sides, along with players from other top Egyptian Premier clubs like Ismaily, ENPPI, Haras El Hodood, Petrojet, El Masry, El Geish and Ghazl El-Mehalla. They all have great youth set ups and work hard on bringing through new young players.
I would love South Africa, Ghana and Ivory Coast particularly to climb up the FIFA rankings. But until they manage to achieve a league structure and youth development policy of such permanence and vision, then it will be, I reckon, Egypt who will be leading the way from the continent of Africa over the next few years.