Malawi’s senior women’s national football team, the Scorchers, have climbed 49 places to 104th in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings released on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

According to FIFA, the Scorchers gained a record 158.44 ranking points following their impressive performances at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) and in the qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Malawi reached the WAFCON final, secured qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and recently recorded a 9-0 aggregate victory over Zimbabwe in the Olympic qualifiers, winning 2-0 in the first leg before a 7-0 triumph in Harare.

The latest ranking represents the Scorchers’ highest-ever position, surpassing their previous best of 110th achieved in 2017.

They are now ranked 12th in Africa.

The remarkable improvement highlights the team’s growing competitiveness on the international stage and provides encouragement to the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), the players and the technical team as they continue working to advance women’s football in the country.