'People always talk, and I don't know what to say, but at the end of the day, I know where my heart is,' he said.
Hannover 96 defender Ime Okon has moved to end any lingering uncertainty over his international future, reaffirming his commitment to representing South Africa.
Okon withdrew from Bafana Bafana’s recent FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Rwanda due to injury, a development that fuelled unfounded rumours questioning his loyalty to the national team.
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Speculation has persisted that the former SuperSport United centre back, born to a Nigerian father and South African mother, has attracted interest from Nigeria, with the Super Eagles reportedly keen to lure him away from Bafana Bafana.
The 21-year-old featured prominently for South Africa at the COSAFA Cup earlier this year, playing every match as Bafana reached the final before suffering a 3–0 defeat to Angola. Speaking to Thabiso Mosia on Radio 2000, Okon made his stance unequivocally clear.
“People always talk, and I don’t know what to say, but at the end of the day, I know where my heart is,” he said.
“I played for South Africa at the COSAFA Cup and I scored (against Zimbabwe) and South Africa is everything to me. I don’t know anything else besides South Africa, it’s where home is.”
Okon was named in Hugo Broos’ preliminary squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, set to kick off in Morocco next month. Asked whether the Nigerian Football Federation has ever approached him, the young defender was forthright about where loyalty lies.
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“Not really, but even if they call me, South Africa is my home, and that’s all I have to really say,” he concluded.
