Northern Ireland v Czech Republic

one point for a draw and three for a victory in a

league table style system.

FIFA realised there were many factors affecting

international matches though, such as the strength

of the opponent and the significance of the fixture,

and therefore vast changes were made to the

rankings system from 1999 onwards.

Under the current system four variables are used

to calculate the rankings points earned from a

single game: the result; the importance of the

match/competition, and the strength of both the

opposition and the governing body they belong to

(UEFA, CONMEBOL etc).

The points from each match are then tallied up

and divided by the number of games played in a

calendar year. The calendar year average is added

to 50% of the previous year’s average, 30% of the

year before and 20% of the average three years

ago to work out the overall total points – and that

dictates a nation’s position in the rankings.

Northern Ireland are currently 23rd in the rankings

(as of 10 August) with a total points tally of 896.66

(rounded up to 897). The figure is calculated from

their average points tally for 2017 so far, which

stands at 463.47, along with 50% of their tally from

2016 – which is 226.67 (from a total of 453.34),

30% of their 2015 tally (556.12) – 166.83 and 20%

from their 2014 tally (198.39) – 39.68.

The points awarded per match can vary hugely – a

case in point being Northern Ireland’s two games

back in June.

A 1-0 friendly victory over New Zealand at the

beginning of the month saw the team awarded just

289.8 points while they earned 920.7 points for

their impressive 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory

away in Azerbaijan on 10 June.

The match total for New Zealand was calculated

as follows: Northern Ireland 1 New Zealand 0 -

three points for a victory x 1 for the importance of

match x 105 for the opposition strength x 0.92 for

the organisation strength (OFC – Oceania Football

Confederation) = 289.8 points.

And for Azerbaijan it was: Azerbaijan 0 Northern

Ireland 1 – three points (victory) x 2.5 (importance

of match) x 124 (opposition strength) x 0.99

(regional strength for UEFA) = 920.7 points.

UEFA has its own ranking system similar to the

FIFA World Rankings. The UEFA rankings are

significant to Northern Ireland as they are used

to determine what seeding pot a European nation

is put in for the draws for the finals of major

tournaments (FIFA World Cup and UEFA European

Championship) and qualifying groups for those

tournaments.

Northern Ireland are currently 22nd in these

rankings. UEFA’s points are based on results

of European nations in three cycles, which are

currently as follows: Cycle 1 (FIFA World Cup

2014 qualification results plus FIFA World Cup

2014 results); Cycle 2 (UEFA Euro 2016 finals and

qualification results) and Cycle 3 (FIFA World Cup

2018 qualifying results).

There are a host of independent ranking systems

too, including the ELO Ratings which date back

to 1872. Northern Ireland achieved their highest

placing of 14th in the ELO Ratings in May 1986,

while their lowest placing of 114th was in October

2013. They were 47th in the system prior to last

Friday’s match against San Marino.”

Words:

Andy Greeves