Uganda has dropped three places to 88th in the latest FIFA World Rankings after a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Morocco, where the Cranes collected just one point from the group stage.
The January 2026 rankings, released on Monday, reflect Uganda’s early exit after finishing bottom of their group. The Cranes lost 3 1 to Tunisia and Nigeria and drew 1 1 with Tanzania, a return that FIFA said had a significant impact on the latest standings due to the weighting of AFCON matches.
Regionally, Uganda still sits ahead Tanzania and Kenya. Tanzania improved two places to 110th, while Kenya is ranked 113th. Rwanda is placed 130th, with Burundi remaining the lowest ranked team in the region at 150th.
At the top of the global rankings, Spain retained first place, followed by World Cup champions Argentina and France. England is fourth, with Brazil completing the top five.
AFCON performances drove major movement among African nations. Hosts Morocco climbed three places to eighth despite losing the final, their highest position since April 1998. Champions Senegal rose seven places to 12th. Nigeria made one of the biggest jumps, moving up 12 places to 26th, while Cameroon also climbed 12 spots to 45th. Algeria rose to 28th, Egypt to 31st, Côte d’Ivoire to 37th, and DR Congo to 48th.
Uganda’s slide underlines the cost of a poor continental showing and adds pressure on the national team setup as attention turns to rebuilding ahead of upcoming qualifiers and future international competitions.
