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FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking
<SPAN class=art-title2>Bahamas riding the wave of success</SPAN> <TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
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<SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Nesley Jean scores for the Bahamas during their 3-2 victory over the Turks and Caicos Islands.
</SPAN><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>Courtesy of BFA
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<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">05 Oct 2006</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>September 2006 is a month football fans in the Bahamas will remember for quite some time. Following their outstanding success in the group qualifiers for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, supporters and officials had to endure an agonising week waiting for confirmation that their heroes had achieved a meteoric rise from 193rd to 138th place in the global ranking. Yet, when General Secretary of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA), Lionel Haven, visited FIFA.com on 13 September, the celebrations began.
This huge leap of 55 places in one short month secured the best ever standing in the history of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA). The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was in its infancy when the island state recorded its previous highpoint of 166th spot between August and October 1993 (their lowest ever placing was 197th back in March 1999). So, what has happened over recent times to take Bahamian football to such heady heights, not to mention its 16th place in the CONCACAF list?
The dramatic improvement in the September ranking is due to two crucial victories for Gary White's men. In the first round of Caribbean qualification for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the senior squad recorded a convincing 3-1 win over the previously higher-ranked Cayman Islands in the Cuban capital of Havana, before recovering from defeat against Cuba to overcome the Turks and Caicos Islands, also hitherto ahead in the rankings, by a margin of 3-2 in an exciting clash on 6 September. The Caribbean archipelago now joins group winners Cuba in the second round, having collected a good haul of bonus points for the world ranking on the way.
"Our results in qualification were simply amazing, as is our position in the FIFA ranking. This will help to spur us on to continue the work we have already been doing," Lionel Haven, General Secretary of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA), told FIFA.com. "However, we have to keep our feet on the ground and cannot afford to get too carried away. Having achieved this ranking, we now need to prove that we have earned it by maintaining or even improving our placing."
The second round of Caribbean qualification during October and November will provide just such a challenge, and one the islanders will be looking forward to with renewed self-confidence. An international friendly is planned for the end of October to ensure that the men in blue and yellow are in top form for the tough fixtures ahead.
The squad comprises a mix of players from domestic and foreign leagues, with the majority plying their trade at colleges and universities in the USA. The US-based players will come into the approaching fixtures with plenty of match practice under their belts due to the early kick-off of the American season. With the number of games to be contested in the coming years set to rise, Haven is confident that this will "help players and coaches alike to up their game".<TABLE id=IMGTAB height=150 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left summary="" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><IMG id=SECIMG17691 height=150 alt="National of Bahamas listening to the national anthem." src="http://www.fifa.com/images/cms/others/Bahamas_ranking_2.jpg" width=150 border
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking
<SPAN class=art-title2>Bahamas riding the wave of success</SPAN> <TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=paddingall><TD vAlign=top>
<SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Nesley Jean scores for the Bahamas during their 3-2 victory over the Turks and Caicos Islands.</SPAN><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>Courtesy of BFA
</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">05 Oct 2006</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>September 2006 is a month football fans in the Bahamas will remember for quite some time. Following their outstanding success in the group qualifiers for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, supporters and officials had to endure an agonising week waiting for confirmation that their heroes had achieved a meteoric rise from 193rd to 138th place in the global ranking. Yet, when General Secretary of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA), Lionel Haven, visited FIFA.com on 13 September, the celebrations began.
This huge leap of 55 places in one short month secured the best ever standing in the history of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA). The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking was in its infancy when the island state recorded its previous highpoint of 166th spot between August and October 1993 (their lowest ever placing was 197th back in March 1999). So, what has happened over recent times to take Bahamian football to such heady heights, not to mention its 16th place in the CONCACAF list?
The dramatic improvement in the September ranking is due to two crucial victories for Gary White's men. In the first round of Caribbean qualification for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the senior squad recorded a convincing 3-1 win over the previously higher-ranked Cayman Islands in the Cuban capital of Havana, before recovering from defeat against Cuba to overcome the Turks and Caicos Islands, also hitherto ahead in the rankings, by a margin of 3-2 in an exciting clash on 6 September. The Caribbean archipelago now joins group winners Cuba in the second round, having collected a good haul of bonus points for the world ranking on the way.
"Our results in qualification were simply amazing, as is our position in the FIFA ranking. This will help to spur us on to continue the work we have already been doing," Lionel Haven, General Secretary of the Bahamas Football Association (BFA), told FIFA.com. "However, we have to keep our feet on the ground and cannot afford to get too carried away. Having achieved this ranking, we now need to prove that we have earned it by maintaining or even improving our placing."
The second round of Caribbean qualification during October and November will provide just such a challenge, and one the islanders will be looking forward to with renewed self-confidence. An international friendly is planned for the end of October to ensure that the men in blue and yellow are in top form for the tough fixtures ahead.
The squad comprises a mix of players from domestic and foreign leagues, with the majority plying their trade at colleges and universities in the USA. The US-based players will come into the approaching fixtures with plenty of match practice under their belts due to the early kick-off of the American season. With the number of games to be contested in the coming years set to rise, Haven is confident that this will "help players and coaches alike to up their game".<TABLE id=IMGTAB height=150 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left summary="" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><IMG id=SECIMG17691 height=150 alt="National of Bahamas listening to the national anthem." src="http://www.fifa.com/images/cms/others/Bahamas_ranking_2.jpg" width=150 border