ZURICH, Switzerland (CMC):
THERE IS no positional change in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) rankings for January following world governing body FIFA's release yesterday of its first ratings list for the new year.
Jamaica's Reggae Boyz, the reigning Digicel Caribbean Cup champions, kept their December 2005 rating of 42nd in the world, and stay top of the CFU list, stalked by World Cup qualifiers Trinidad and Tobago, who remain 50th in the world as they were last month.
Cuba, 75th on the FIFA list, are number three in the CFU, followed by Haiti, who slipped two places to 100.
Barbados, 115th in the world, are fifth in the CFU, and the remainder of the region's top-10, is sixth-placed St Lucia (128th), St Kitts and Nevis (129th), and St Vincent and the Grenadines (131st), with Grenada (152nd) ninth, and Suriname (153rd) 10th.
Mexico and the United States, the leading teams in CONCACAF, the Confederation for North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, are joint seventh in the world after Mexico slipped two places and the U.S. gained one.
Third in CONCACAF behind Mexico and the U.S. are Costa Rica at 21st in the world, while Honduras (41st) are fourth, one place ahead of Jamaica.
The T&T Soca Warriors, who achieved their first ever qualification for a World Cup Finals when they beat Bahrain 2-1 on aggregate in a play-off last November, are sixth in CONCACAF.
Brazil top the rankings for the 42nd consecutive month, with the Czech Republic lying second, followed by the Netherlands and Argentina, with Spain and France joint fifth.
CFU Rankings - January 2006 (world rating in bracket):
1. Jamaica (42)
2. Trinidad & Tobago (50)
3. Cuba (75)
4. Haiti (100)
5. Barbados (115)
6. St Lucia (128)
7. St. Kitts & Nevis (129)
8. St Vincent & the Grenadines (131)
9. Grenada (152)
10. Suriname (153)
11. Antigua & Barbuda (155)
12. Bermuda (161)
13. Guyana (167)
14. Netherlands Antilles (168)
15. British Virgin Islands (171)
16. Dominica (172)
17. Dominican Republic (174)
18. Cayman Islands (181)
19. Bahamas (193)
20. Puerto Rico (195)
21. U.S. Virgin Islands (196)
22. Anguilla (198)
23. Aruba (200)
24. Montserrat (202)
25. Turks & Caicos Islands (203).
