The FIFA World Rankings are a numerical system developed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to rank men's national teams in association football (soccer). The rankings are based on a team's performance in international competitions over the previous four years. The system is updated on a monthly basis.
International rankings are calculated and published by FIFA for Men and Women.
The ranking system uses a formula that takes into account the results of each team's matches, the importance of each match, and the strength of the opponent. The formula also includes a decay factor, which means that more recent results are weighted more heavily than older results.
The current formula used by FIFA to calculate the rankings is as follows:
P = M x I x T x C
Where P is the total number of points, M is the match result, I is the importance of the match, T is the strength of the opponent, and C is the confederation strength.
The match result is the most straightforward part of the formula. A team earns three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss.
The importance of the match is based on the competition in which the match was played. FIFA uses a system of weights to determine the importance of each match. For example, matches in the FIFA World Cup are worth more points than matches in regional competitions like the African Cup of Nations or the Copa America.
The strength of the opponent is determined by the opponent's ranking and the result of the match. The formula gives more weight to victories over higher-ranked opponents and less weight to victories over lower-ranked opponents.
The confederation strength is a factor that reflects the overall strength of the teams in a particular confederation. The strength of each confederation is determined by the average ranking of its teams.
Once the points are calculated for each team, they are sorted in descending order to determine the FIFA World Rankings.
While the FIFA World Rankings are not a perfect measure of a team's strength, they are widely recognized as an important indicator of a team's performance. Many fans and analysts use the rankings to make predictions and to evaluate a team's chances in international competitions.
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