Cape Town — Following their DStv Premiership runners-up finish and cup conquests, Orlando Pirates' global standing has grown considerably in stature and is a top 10 country in African rankings along with Mamelodi Sundowns (No 2).
Pirates won the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup titles as well and that made them the most successful South Africa team this season. They, however, have not enough in recent seasons to be mentioned in the same breath as Sundowns, who are presently No 2 in Africa.
Pirates are at No 7 and this is the club's highest raking in the past decade.
Before losing their recent CAF Champions League semi-final against reigning champions Wydad Casablanca, Sundowns were the highest-ranked African team according to the Opta Power Rankings. As a result, Sundowns dropped down to No 2 and Wydad, the Champions League champions, No 2.
The 10-time CAF Champions League title-holders Al Ahly are in the No 1 spot and of late they have shown incredible form.
This season, Sundowns won the Premiership for the sixth consecutive time, and it added considerable weight to their standing on the rankings.
This global team ranking system assigns an ability score to nearly 13,500 domestic football teams on a scale between zero and 100. Zero is the worst-ranked team in the world and 100 is the best team in the world.
The Power Rankings are updated daily and currently rank teams from 183 different countries and 413 unique domestic leagues, providing a truly global rating system in men’s football.
SA footie fans would have noticed that the highly rated Egyptian team Pyramids who was dumped out of the CAF Confederation Cup by PSL side Marumo Gallants are at No 4 on the latest rankings. Gallants have just been relegated from the Premiership.
IOL Sport