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SPORTS NOTES - SPAIN REMAIN #1 & CAMBODIA'S MYSTERIOUS RISE IN THE FIFA RANKINGS

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

While some of the Top 10 teams lose points but hold positions Cambodia's gain in the ratings is mysterious. Over the years that we have been covering international football most notably in the Asian region there are things that jump up like RED FLAGS

WHAT'S UP WITH FIFA's RATINGS?

Thursday, March 31, 2011

When it comes to investigative journalism you are taught that if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…. IT'S A DUCK. With that in mind this month FIFA IS A DUCK or perhaps DUCKING THE TRUTH. The question is does the Sepp Blatter regime have something to hide?

Over the years that we have been covering international football most notably in the Asian region there are things that jump up like RED FLAGS. This month FIFA failed to send us its FIFA TOP 10 press release although they were timely with all other press releases. Applying logic we thought why FIFA would be so devious in their behavior. We sent an email requesting the report and none arrived.

That seemed strange WHY THE MISSING TOP 10 REPORT? One point could be our report last months that FIFA's HOUSE NEEDS TO BE CLEANED. Additionally we know the Cambodia football program well being the first to cover it extensively since 1998 and have observed its incompetent behavioral patterns.

We did the work on our own and found something very fishy in the FIFA rankings. That smelly fish has been noticeable to us over the past few months that being the meteoric rise in the rankings of the Cambodian National football team.

In FIFA's October 20th 2010 ranking Cambodia was in the 182nd position. In the most recent ranking released March 9 they climbed to 154 their highest ranking in years. Logic would have it that a leap of 28 positions during that time that Cambodia must have had some impressive wins over top competition. We checked and found that not to be the case.

After reaching the 154th spot this month their highest ranking in years Cambodia lost three consecutive matches this past week in the AFC Challenge Cup. They were smashed by Maldives (ranked 161) 4-0, Tajikistan (ranked 148) 3-0 and Kyrgyzstan (ranked 174) 4-3.

Cambodia's games played in October included the AFF Suzuki Cup Qualifications away in Vientiane, Laos and that was the beginning of their rise up the FIFA ratings.

October 22nd they tied Laos 0 - 0 who were ranked 175 at that time.

October 24th Cambodia defeated Timor-Leste 4 - 2. At that time Timor-Leste wasn't ranked in the top 200 of the total 206 teams listed in the FIFA rankings. They ranked 201 in November 2010.

October 26th 2010 they tied the Philippines 0 - 0 who were ranked 152 at that time.

With no competitions since then until February 2011 in a home and away Challenge Cup Playoff with Macau who were ranked 193 going into the event. Prior to the competition Cambodia had risen 17 spots to 165 based on their Suzuki Cup results.

On February 9th they defeated Macau 3-1 in Phnom Penh and won again in Macau 3-2.

THE QUESTION IS how can a team rise 28 spots when they defeat teams ranked below them and only one team the Philippines that had a higher ranking at the time of their level 0-0 result?

CAMBODIA'S MYSTERIOUS RANKINGS

2010 OCT - rank 182 - games played before ratings 0

2010 NOV - rank 170 - 3 - 1 win & 2 ties

2010 DEC - rank 166 - 0 - advanced four positions without playing any games

2011 JAN - rank 165 - 0 advanced one position without playing any games

2011 FEB - rank 166 - 0 games - minus 1 spot - played no games

2011 MAR - rank 154 - 2 games - up 12 positions based on defeating 193 rd ranked Macau twice in a home and away 3-1 (H) & 3-2 (A)

Do the logic and decide who is playing games FIFA or the teams? It's obvious that Cambodia's rise 28 spots in five months with a losing record 2-2-1 with only one team ranked above them (Philippines) and two teams below them ranked 201 and 193 doesn't make sense. There are some who might argue NO SENSE IS NONSENSE.

CONTINUED: WHY WOULD FIFA CHOSE TO DECEIVE? The answer could be they are circling their wagons around violence and corruption.

FIFA TOP 10 for March, 2011

Rank -- Team -- Points

1. Spain - 1880

2. Netherlands - 1730

3. Germany - 1486

4. Argentina - 1412

5. Brazil - 1411

6. England - 1212

7. Uruguay - 1172

8. Croatia - 1071

9. Portugal - 1060

10. Greece - 1038

The next FIFA World Ranking will be published on 13 Apr 2011.

FIFA