Ime Okon upbeat about South African football after positive week

The centre-back is currently in camp with the senior side that has made an ideal start to its 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign, recording victories over Guinea and Eritrea to move top of Group D, which also includes co-hosts Kenya.

South Africa’s U20s were also crowned COSAFA champions, while the U23s strengthened preparation for their LA 2028 Olympic Games qualification with a win over Algeria in a friendly.

Reflecting on the recent results, Okon is confident about what lies ahead.

"I think we are very much headed in the right direction. The academies have been doing well over the past few years, bringing players into the setup and I think, it's just a true reflection of South African football at the moment and we can only go up from here," Okon said.

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Bafana also climbed into the top 50 of the FIFA World Cup rankings for the first time in more than a decade, and Okon hopes they can maintain that under coach Pitso Mosimane who has succeeded Hugo Broos. 

"It's really motivating and then you see the teams that are in front of you and you believe that you can actually get more places. You can go more down and it's very motivating and we just look forward to getting better spots now," he added.

Egypt then, ranked third highest in Africa coming up against a Bafana side that has just recently also made it into the top 10, will be another challenging test for South Africa according to Okon. 

"As we know Egypt is one of the biggest teams in Africa and as a player you always want to play the best teams, always want to challenge yourself. 

“So, yeah man, I think the feeling within the team is very excited to play against them and test ourselves also and to show them what we are about. I think all the guys are really excited and looking forward to the game."