The Golden Jaguars’ prolonged absence from international football due to the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect their International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rankings, as they remain rooted on 166th.
This was revealed by the world governing body following the official publication of the penultimate rankings of the year yesterday. Guyana remained on 988 points, which is unchanged from the rankings of April, June, July and October respectively. The Guyanese men’s national football team sits between 165th ranked Papua New Guinea and Caribbean rival St. Vincent and the Grenadines on 167th.
Guyana’s best ever ranking was 86th and was achieved in 2010. On the other hand, their worst position was 185th in 2004. Overall, Guyana’s average ranking has been 150th. The Golden Jaguars continued absence from the international circuit is rooted in a decision by local confederation CONCACAF, following discussions with FIFA, to reschedule the Gold Cup Playoffs and the World Cup Qualifiers respectively until next year.
This was disclosed in an earlier release from both of the aforementioned entities. According to the correspondence, the decision was mutually agreed upon by CONCACAF and FIFA following deliberations, which also involved other stakeholders on the topic of resuming competitive football in the region.
The communication stated that the current health crisis within the region, presents a formidable challenge in the pursuit of resuming competitive football in the future. The release further stated that issues such as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are a direct result of the ongoing health situation, which inhibits the resumption of international play.
The Guyanese were drawn in group-F in the first stage of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, a pool which contains traditional rival Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.
They were slated to commence their path to Qatar on October 8th away to Trinidad and Tobago. The second match was a home fixture against The Bahamas on the 13th. Meanwhile, the Golden Jaguars were slated to compete in a November away to St. Kitts and Nevis on the 13th before ending their group campaign against Puerto Rico on home soil four days later.
Similarly, Guyana is scheduled to match skills with Guatemala on their path to qualify for their second ever CONCACAF Gold Cup. The two teams were drawn against each other in the first round during the inaugural 2021 CONCACAF Draw.
Following the end of the first round, Guyana, if victorious against Guatemala, will lock horns with the winner of the Guadeloupe and The Bahamas tie for a place in group-C of the actual championship, which is scheduled for the period of July 10th-August 1st.
Meanwhile, Guyana remained unranked in the Women’s section following the previous updated rankings in August. The Lady Jaguars have officially been removed from the FIFA rankings owing to their dormancy on the international circuit.
This was revealed on the FIFA website’s ranking system. According to the world governing body, national teams are relegated to the status of unranked or inherit a non-ranked standing if they fail to feature in several competitive matches or have not competed and are inactive for the duration of 18 months.
Guyana were ranked 88th following the previous rankings issued on March 27th. The Lady Jaguars highest ever rank was 76th and occurred in March 2017, with their worst ever placement being 92nd in December 2015.
