West Ham United are the biggest club in the Championship, and they are still attracting over 60,000 supporters despite relegation.

Sure, West Ham are missing out on the Premier League’s multi-billion-pound circus, but make no mistake: the Championship is still a massive platform with global eyes on it.

What’s interesting, and probably no surprise, is that England’s second tier is highly ranked outside of the top five leagues in the world: Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, and La Liga.

That’s why it was interesting to read that, outside of the teams in the top five leagues in Europe, West Ham are sitting in 19th place, with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon and Benfica topping that list.

West Ham above Ajax, Besiktas and Celtic in world ranking outside of top five leagues

Football Ranked uses the Elo-rated system to determine the top teams across the world, and they have put together those sides outside of the big five leagues.

West Ham are the only English side on the 50-team list, with clubs from Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the Netherlands, Brazil and Scotland, to name a few, also on the list.

Following West Ham’s win over leaders Swansea City over the weekend, Nuno’s side managed to climb six places and into 19th place on the list.

Pushing ahead of Brazil giants Flamengo, as well as Dutch outfit Ajax, and the champions of Scotland, Celtic, there are some seriously big names on this list.

How does Elo calculate their data and determine their list?

Rather than just using the points or trophies won by this team, Elo uses a more sophisticated and thorough data system to put together their list.

From ‘Calculating True Form‘ to ‘Rewarding Dominance’. There are many ways to gain points from their system.

So, for instance, in the case of ‘Calculating True Form’, ‘It measures a club’s current skill level using a rolling number (like West Ham’s 1,613) rather than just counting trophies or league points.’

It also ‘Steals points’ by using a ‘zero-sum system where points are not created; they are transferred directly from the loser’s rating to the winner’s rating.’

But it also ‘Punishes Favourites’ for winning games that they should, such as West Ham’s thumping of Lincoln City recently. You gain ‘almost zero points’ from this, but ‘if an underdog pulls off an upset, they steal a huge chunk of points from the favourite.’

You have several clubs in Europe on this list, including clubs like Club Brugge and Fenerbahçe in the Champions League, so that will ‘impact ratings much more’ compared to West Ham’s Championship games.

It also ‘rewards dominance’, as this formula factors in ‘goal margin.’ West Ham have won some pretty big games this season, including humiliating Wrexham on home soil. You are also rewarded for these big-margin victories.

And, finally, it also factors in ‘home advantage’ because it ‘rewards’ teams for winning a ‘tough’ game on the road.