Kwesi Mugisa, StaffReporters

JAMAICA'S REGGAE Boyz have plummeted an astounding 25 positions to occupy 93rd place in the latest FIFA world rankings.

The spot is only three points away from the nation's lowest-ever ranking which was 96th in 1994, and is a direct fallout from the national football team's recent catastrophic tour of Asia.

The team, which headed into that set of friendlies ranked 68th, lost three of the four games played during the campaign. Two of those losses came at the hands of Indonesia and Vietnam, teams ranked several places below them.

Jamaica then closed out the tour on the wrong side of an 8-1 drubbing at the hands of 46th-ranked Iran.

Regionally, Jamaica have also fallen out of the top 10, as the latest CONCACAF rankings have them dropping four spots to 11th - one behind Haiti and four behind rivals Trinidad and Tobago, who are 65th overall.

Mexico is on top

Mexico have taken over from the United Sates as the region's top team, while Costa Rica are in third spot and Canada are fourth. The slip in the ranking reflects the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF) and new technical director Velibor Milutinovic's efforts to put their focus on building a capable local-based squad which they believe will be key to being successful at the start of World Cup qualifiers next year.

This approach has seen the team manage to win only one game in its last eight international friendlies.

With several Jamaican internationals now plying their trade in England, one negative offshoot of the current focus on local talent is that a couple of the players overseas now may have problems securing work permits due to the England Home Office's insistence of a 75 per cent of international matches quota.

Another rule which could impact players states that in order to receive a work permit the player's country must be at or above 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings when averaged over two years. Jamaica's average over the last two years now stands at about 64th.