The New Zealand Futsal Whites have been ranked as the 19th best team out of the 139 nations listed in FIFA’s new official international futsal rankings which were released today. 

The Futsal Ferns have also been highly ranked, coming in at number 26 out of 69 nations. 

The announcement comes as part of a landmark period for futsal in Aotearoa, with the Futsal Whites qualified to play at their first ever FIFA Futsal World Cup this September in Uzbekistan and the Futsal Ferns starting their qualifying campaign for the first ever FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup in August. 

The rankings are based on statistics from FIFA ‘A’ International matches and will be used to decide seedings for teams at upcoming editions of the men’s and women’s World Cups, starting this year. 

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 recognized as a top 20 team is a huge honour, and it’s 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.”

Article added: Tuesday 07 May 2024