The Flames have maintained position 123 on the first FIFA Rankings of 2021 released on Thursday February 18, 2021.

The Meck Mwase coached side moved a step up from 124 on November 26 last year and maintained the position during the last rankings released on December 10, 2020..

The Flames last played a match three months ago when they drew 0-0 with Burkina Faso in the ongoing 2022 CAF AFCON Qualifiers.

Mwase has attributed the Flames’ static position to the drop in the number of games played since November 2019 due to COVID-19.

“We have been dormant since 2019 and haven’t played many games due to Covid-19 and this is why we have maintained the same position.

“However, we should also admit that we haven’t done well in our recent assignments since we lost a game against Burkina Faso away and drew at home. So we need to we need to work hard in the upcoming matches,” he said

The Flames’ 2022 AFCON Qualifiers Group B opponents Burkina Faso and South Sudan have also maintained positions 58 and 163 respectively while Uganda’s Cranes have moved four steps down from position 83 to 79.