Falcons Retain Top Spot in Africa as FIFA Ranking Confirms Nigerian Dominance
By IDNN Women’s Football Desk
ABUJA, NIGERIA – June 13, 2025 | IDNN Women’s Football Desk
The Super Falcons of Nigeria have once again stamped their dominance as Africa’s highest-ranked women’s football team, according to the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking released on June 12.
Despite a marginal rise of just 0.8 points — moving from 1622.49 to 1623.29 — Nigeria held firmly at 36th globally, remaining unchallenged at the summit of African football.
The rankings reflect matches played since the previous update in March, a period during which Nigeria remained inactive until their May-June international window, where they faced Cameroon twice, notching one win and a draw.
Close rivals South Africa, although riding a four-match winning streak, dropped 1.57 points and now sit at 54th globally with 1488.49 points. The drop underscores the difficulty of climbing the FIFA ladder without high-caliber opponents, regardless of form.
Meanwhile, Morocco, heralded for their historic 2023 World Cup performance, suffered an eight-point drop to 1419.63, sliding to 60th globally. In contrast, Cameroon, despite losing to Nigeria, gained 7.3 points and climbed to 64th — the most upward movement among African nations in this window.
The Zambian Copper Queens slipped to 65th after losing 4.67 points amid patchy recent results — two draws and two losses — that reflect a team searching for consistency. Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire held steady at 66th and 72nd respectively, each balancing wins and losses in the period under review.
Further down, Mali, Senegal, and Algeria drew all their matches, registering no change in ranking points. However, it was Egypt that stole the continental spotlight globally — leaping seven places to 93rd, becoming Africa’s biggest climber.
Globally, the United States remain first, though their position is under renewed pressure following a defeat to Brazil. The Spanish and German national teams continue to close in, while Brazil surged to fourth, buoyed by their recent victories.
FIFA confirmed that the next Women’s World Ranking will be released on August 7, 2025, just ten days after the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations concludes — a tournament that could shuffle the pecking order in a major way. For the men’s side, the next ranking is expected on July 10, 2025.
As the countdown to WAFCON 2025 intensifies, the Super Falcons remain the continent’s gold standard — but the gap is narrowing.
