The leaders of Colombian soccer, who puffed their chests when the League was considered the fifth best in the world in February 2022, should be worried today after the new ranking published by the International Federation of Soccer History and Statistics.
The country’s new position is number 12 and is surpassed in South America by the leagues of Brazil (1st), Argentina (9th), Paraguay (10th) and Ecuador (11th).
Although it remains among the top 15, out of a list that includes 80 and above other major countries such as Belgium, Uruguay, Mexico and the United States, analysts believe that it will continue to drop in that ranking.
“It is a League that has an exaggerated number of games, in which the players have few rest periods and that affects performance. In addition, there are vetoes on soccer players and agreements not to hire players who end their contracts with just cause, so it is very difficult to become an elite league,” said the executive director of Acolfutpro, Carlos González Puche.
In addition to the factors mentioned above, the fact that they did not qualify for the World Cup in Qatar also weighs heavily. “Not having been to an event that steals world attention makes the quality of our football questionable, beyond the fact that most of those called up play abroad. It is logical that businessmen begin to look elsewhere and that the tournament loses importance”, said former World Cup player Hárold Lozano.
Not being able to make large investments due to the austerity that most of the teams manage also affects the image of the tournament. Added to this is the retreading of soccer players who return to finish their careers. “The phenomenon of hiring players who decide to return to finish their careers in Colombia, because they were no longer given abroad, is not the most attractive either, beyond the fact that some fans want to see them again, but it is clear that they will never be the same they left years ago”, said the coach from Tolima, Jorge Luis Bernal.
The stadiums don’t help either, because although those in the main cities are suitable for important matches, the infrastructure of those in other regions is very deficient. “How do we want to be a high-level league when there are still dressing rooms in terrible condition, before I think we should be lower down. We have a long way to go,” said former soccer player Gildardo Gómez.
Finally, the sports results at the continental level have not been the best since the Copa Sudamericana that Santa Fe reached in 2015 and the Libertadores that Nacional celebrated in 2016.
“We have lost competitiveness, the Colombian teams have left a poor image in recent editions of international tournaments and that also counts,” said former player Luis Alfonso Fajardo.
