FIFA releases first-ever global rankings for national futsal teams

New Zealand’s Futsal Whites have been ranked 19th in the first-ever release of global futsal world rankings by FIFA.

The sport’s governing body has launched an official FIFA Futsal World Ranking system to rate men’s and women’s teams, as they do with national teams for the 11-a-side game.

The Futsal Whites, who will go to their first-ever FIFA Futsal World Cup, have achieved their 19th ranking in a list of 139 nations whose performances have been measured.

READ MORE: Futsal World Cup qualifications complete with 24 nations confirmed >>>>

Main photo: New Zealand’s national men’s futsal team … in the top 20 of the first FIFA rankings. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.

The Futsal Ferns are ranked 26th of the 69 nations included in the first set of ratings produced for women’s teams.

Futsal Whites head coach Marvin Eakins said: “It’s great to have FIFA finally release an official ranking system for futsal for both the men’s and women’s teams.

“To have the Futsal Whites recognised as a top 20 team is a huge honour, and it’s a testament to the work the entire futsal community has put in across the country to continually grow the game and push for higher and higher standards.

“The World Cup is massive for New Zealand futsal, so we want to make sure we seize the moment and continue the momentum of what we have been building.”

Brazil are ranked first in both the men’s and women’s lists.

Though the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Rankings for football have existed since December 1992 and women’s senior national football teams have been officially ranked by FIFA since 2003, that has not previously been the case for futsal.

However, the indoor game has enjoyed exponential growth in recent years and this milestone moment represents the natural next step, as well as being the first time FIFA men’s and women’s rankings have been launched concurrently.

New Zealand heads the Oceania rankings

The New Zealand men’s team are the highest-ranked country in the Oceania Football Confederation, followed by Tahiti (45), the Solomon Islands (59), New Caledonia (65), Vanuatu (71), Fiji (77), American Samoa (115), Samoa (132) and Tonga (137).

The New Zealand women are also the highest-ranked team from OFC, with New Caledonia the other ranked women’s team at 33.

Broadcasts of the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania in 2021 attracted an average of 2.42 million viewers per match, a 130% increase on the previous edition in 2016.

The 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan — which is set to be the first FIFA tournament to be staged in Central Asia — is likely to improve even on those numbers, and a historic first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup will be held in 2025.

Against this backdrop, FIFA has rolled out global rankings for its member associations’ women’s and men’s senior futsal national teams in recognition of the dynamic development of and global interest in the sport.

How the rankings have been calculated

The initial rankings have been based on statistics gathered from more than 4,600 “A” matches.

FIFA defines an international “A” match as a match between two FIFA members for which both members field their first representative team (“A” team).

The new rankings system will also serve to seed teams for all upcoming editions of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, including during the draw to be made on May 26 for the 2024 competition in Uzbekistan.

The system will likewise be used for qualification processes and enable comprehensive and consistent data to be gathered to monitor member associations in accordance with the FIFA Regulations Governing International Matches.

That will support the prevention of practices that jeopardise the integrity of the sport, such as match manipulation.

In the nine editions of the FIFA Futsal World Cup to date, the inaugural top-ranked men’s side, Brazil, have been crowned world champions five times and only failed to finish on the podium once. They are closely followed in the chart by Portugal, who arrive at this year’s FIFA Futsal World Cup as the title holders and have won the last two European crowns.

Portugal’s Iberian neighbours Spain — double FIFA Futsal World Cup winners (2000 and 2004) and seven-time European champions — are third in the standings.

Brazil’s women’s national team have been just as dominant as their male counterparts, having won all seven of the South American championships that they have contested. Spain and Portugal are again behind them in the women’s ranking, albeit in reverse order: three-time European champions Spain are second, with Portugal – who have finished runners-up to their Iberian rivals in two continental finals – in third.

Fans interested in attending the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024 can register to receive ticketing updates here.

Men’s rankings

Released on May 7, 2024

Women’s rankings

Released on May 7, 2034

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