'I think we are very much headed in the right direction,' said the 22-year-old Okon
Bafana defender Ime Okon belives South African football is on the up. Picture: Phakamisa Lensman/Backpagepix
Bafana Bafana defender Ime Okon believes South African football is heading in the right direction after the successes of the senior national team and the age-group sides in recent times.
Bafana off to a flyer
Bafana won their first two 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Group D qualifiers under new head coach Pitso Mosimane, beating Guinea 2-1 and Eritrea 5-0 to get ‘Jingles’ latest spell as Bafana head coach off to a flying start.
This follows on from Bafana’s achievements under former head coach Hugo Broos. Bafana finished third at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, where they became the first Bafana side to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup finals.
On the side of the youth teams, the South African Under-20 side have won the Cosafa Under-20 Championship for the second time in a row and qualified for the 2027 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
The South African Under-23 side, meanwhile, are looking to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and beat Algeria 3-1 in a friendly international on Friday (the two sides faced off again in another friendly on Sunday).
“I think we are very much headed in the right direction,” said the 22-year-old Okon, who started all of Bafana’s games at the World Cup finals.
The former SuperSport United man has continued to be first choice under Mosimane, and scored his first goal for Bafana in the win over Guinea.
“The academies have been doing well over the last few years in bringing players into the set-up. It is a true reflection of South African football and we can only go up from here.”
The latest Fifa World Rankings also reflect Bafana’s success. Ahead of last night’s friendly against Egypt in Cairo, Bafana had moved up to 49th in the world. The last time Bafana achieved a better ranking than this was 15 years ago.
‘It is really motivating to see’
“It is really motivating to see. The teams in front of you and believe you can actually get more places (up),” added the Hanover 96 defender.
This has been an extra long camp for Bafana and all other international sides in this extended international break.
“I think we have adjusted well,” said Okon.
“The group know each other quite well. It has been long but not for us. We get along well and have been winning.”
