Ghana jumped a step up to occupy the 47th position in the latest edition of the quarterly FIFA Women’s world ranking released on Friday for the month of June by the sport governing body.

The Black Queens now have a total point build up of 1511 o their credit for the month of June and remain second to Nigeria on the African ranking table.

The latest edition of the FIFA Women's World ranking shows that Olympic champions USA now hold a healthy lead over world champions Germany.

June's ranking is the final edition before this year's main event, the FIFA Women's World Cup in China in September when there will be much to play for, including the top spot in the ranking and the other places in the top ten.

And Ghana’s Black Queens having qualified for the World Cup aside the quest for honours will also be using the competition to improve their position on the log.

The FIFA Women's World Ranking was first published in July 2003 to rate some 150 FIFA member associations on the basis of several factors including victories, home advantage, the strength of the opposition and the importance of matches.

The ranking is published four times each year. According to FIFA's Big Count survey in 2006, 26 million women and girls around the world currently play football.