Ghana’s Black Queens have slipped five places to 65th in the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking and are now fifth in Africa after their disappointing 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) campaign.
The rankings, released on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, show Ghana dropping from 60th in the world and third on the continent in the previous edition published in June.
Nigeria remain Africa’s highest-ranked women’s national team despite falling seven places to 43rd globally. South Africa are 59th, while African champions Cameroon have risen nine places to 62nd.
Morocco are 64th, one place above Ghana, completing the teams ranked ahead of the Black Queens among Africa’s leading sides.
The latest standings reflect results from the WAFCON tournament staged in Morocco in July and August. Ghana were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing to Malawi and consequently failed to reach the last four.
That defeat also meant the Black Queens missed out on an automatic qualification place for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. They must now attempt to reach the tournament through the qualification play-offs.
Ghana’s participation in the Olympic qualifying campaign for the Los Angeles 2028 Games also contributed to the results used for the latest ranking update.
Malawi make historic progress
Malawi recorded the biggest rise in the new standings, moving up an unprecedented 49 places to 104th in the world.
The Scorchers reached their first-ever WAFCON final and secured historic qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Their performances in the continental tournament and Olympic qualifiers earned them 158.44 ranking points, the highest increase in the latest update.
Cameroon’s nine-place rise to 62nd followed their WAFCON triumph. Tanzania climbed 11 places to 111th, while Burkina Faso moved up nine places to 109th.
There were also significant falls elsewhere in Africa. Egypt suffered the largest decline, dropping 14 places to 113th after losing all three of their group-stage matches at WAFCON.
The Democratic Republic of Congo fell eight places to 114th, while Zimbabwe dropped nine places to 136th.
The latest rankings highlight the shifting picture in African women’s football, with Malawi making historic gains while Ghana lose ground.
For the Black Queens, the fall to fifth in Africa comes as they prepare for the preliminary phase of the 2027 Women’s World Cup play-offs next month. Ghana will now seek to recover their position on the continent and maintain their hopes of reaching the tournament in Brazil.