The development strategy outlined by the Azerbaijan Football Federation (AFFA) has clarified the country's top football goal.
The main goal set for the national team has been specified. AFFA aims for the national team to reach the 75th spot in the FIFA rankings. Naturally, the goal of football development in Azerbaijan also includes supporting the national team, training and developing players, and ensuring the success of domestic clubs and the league.
But how realistic is this goal of reaching the “Top-75” in the FIFA rankings? Idman.biz analyzes this question from several perspectives.
Andrade, Vesovic, Jankovic – We Are Coming!
Looking at the current FIFA rankings, Azerbaijan is ranked 117th. To reach the “Top-75”, let’s examine the countries in the lower range of the top 75. The 75th spot is held by Honduras, with Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked 74th. Other teams in this region include Cabo Verde and Montenegro, where some of Qarabag’s foreign players – Patrick Andrade, Leandro Andrade, Marko Vesovic, and Marko Jankovic – play. This cluster of teams around the 75th spot is crucial for reaching the goal, especially the teams ranked between 71st and 80th.
Here’s the current list for the 8th group (71st-80th) in the FIFA rankings:
71. Northern Ireland
72. Cabo Verde
73. Montenegro
74. Bosnia and Herzegovina
75. Honduras
76. Israel
77. Ghana
78. Guinea
79. Bolivia
80. Oman
41 Potential ‘Targets’
Azerbaijan, ranked 117th, is 42 places behind the 75th spot. This means that in order to reach this goal, the national team must surpass not only the 6 teams from the 8th group but also another 36 teams. Teams that are currently ahead of Azerbaijan include Bahrain, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Gabon, Angola, Haiti, Zambia, Uganda, New Zealand, China, Curacao, Luxembourg, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Syria, Mozambique, Belarus, Thailand, Kosovo, Armenia, Trinidad and Tobago, Palestine, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Comoros Islands, Guam, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Mauritania, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Lebanon, Sudan, Vietnam, North Korea, and Madagascar. While some of these teams may seem exotic or not as formidable, they are still ranked ahead of Azerbaijan.
Sad but Truth
On paper, surpassing 42 teams might seem possible, but it’s far from easy. Achieving this goal will require significant effort and commitment. The national team's current standing in the 2024 FIFA rankings paints a less-than-ideal picture. The rankings for 2024, released eight times, show that the best position was 111th, with the lowest being 118th.
The FIFA rankings for Azerbaijan in 2024:
• February: 113th
• April: 112th
• June: 111th
• July: 111th
• September: 113th
• October: 118th
• November: 117th
• December: 117th
Returning to the Past with Berti Vogts?
AFFA's long-term goal is to get into the "Top-75" again, but Azerbaijan has been there before—around 10-11 years ago. Now, AFFA is working hard to return to that era.
There is frequent debate on social media and websites about the best team in Azerbaijan’s football history. Some consider the 1990s team, which suffered heavy defeats, as the best, while others believe that the current team, with more players playing in Europe, is better despite their recent struggles. However, facts, results, and the FIFA rankings reveal the truth. The summer of 2014, under Berti Vogts’ leadership, saw Azerbaijan’s most talented players coming together. That team reached a historic high of 73rd in the FIFA rankings.
At that time, in July 2014, when Germany became the World Cup champion, Azerbaijan under Vogts achieved its highest-ever FIFA ranking. In the following month, the national team remained in 73rd place, marking the first and only time Azerbaijan was in the "Top-75" for consecutive months.
Azerbaijan’s Top 10 FIFA Ranking Achievements:
1-2. July 2014 - 73 August 2014 - 73 3. June 2017 - 76 4. August 2017 - 79 5. July 2017 - 80 6. June 2014 - 83 7-8. April 2014 - 85 May 2014 - 85 9-10. April 2017 - 87 May 2017 - 87
Vugar Kheyrullayev
Idman.biz
