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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter—

IT’S not only the Warriors who are ruling the roost in Southern Africa because ailing giants Dynamos have been ranked the best football club in the region.

It may take some strong faith to believe that but DeMbare have maintained their spot as the best club in Southern Africa, according to the latest rankings released by world football ranking site, Football Database.

The Glamour Boys, despite their recent decline at home and on the continent, continue to be recognised as a leading force in the table published by Football Database on Sunday.

That they could command a better ranking than African club champions Mamelodi Sundowns is a question for another day. Although highly debatable, DeMbare, who have missed the domestic title in the last two years, are ranked 12th in Africa and 253 in the world.

However, they have been losing ground on the global rankings with their best ranking having been attained at the height of their dominance between 2011 and 2014, when they sat at number 205.

South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs are 13th and Sundowns 14th behind Dynamos according to the African rankings.

Egyptian giants Al Ahly lead the pack, followed by Esperance of Tunisia.

CAF Confederation Cup holders TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo are in third place just ahead of their kinsmen AS Vita Club, the home of Warriors defender Oscar Machapa.

Al Merrikh, Al Hilal (both Sudan), Zamalek (Egypt), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia and Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca complete the top 10 rankings. But between them and Dynamos there is Coton Sport of Cameroon in eleventh place.

Spanish giants Real Madrid are the world’s best team ahead of Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich and La Liga rivals Barcelona.

The rankings by Football Database are done using a special rating system which draws data from previous achievements and the present form of all the clubs in the world. And DeMbare, despite their recent decline after missing the title in the last two seasons, are still being recognised as the top team in the region.

Dynamos have the record of being the most successful team in Southern Africa in terms of domestic titles won after bagging 21 championships in their 53-year history.

The Harare giants last season finished fifth in the race and were second in 2015.

DeMbare rose to high levels during the period of success between 2011 and 2014, when they won four consecutive titles under Callisto Pasuwa.

FC Platinum are the second best ranked team in Zimbabwe.

The Platinum miners have performed consistently in the last two seasons when they mounted serious contests for the title. Highlanders are in third place, while reigning Castle Lager Premiership kings CAPS United have made some strides and are in fourth position.

Football Database was established in 1997 and has been providing data for clubs around the world.

They describe themselves as a site that rank football clubs based on the Elo rating system. Scores, standings and statistics about clubs as well as international and domestic leagues are considered.

The World Football Elo Ratings are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Arpad Elo.

This system, which involves a lot of data and calculations, is also used by FIDE, the international chess federation, to rate chess players.

In 1997, Bob Runyan adapted the Elo rating system to international football and posted the results on the Internet.

He was also the first maintainer of the World Football Elo Ratings website.