Newly capped South African defender Ime Okon is still eligible to play for the senior national team of Nigeria despite making his debut for South Africa in the recent friendly games against Panama.
Okon played in both games against Panama as he bid to force his way into the plans of coach Hugo Broos, who is putting finishing touches to his 26 man list for the world cup in June.
Born to a South African mother and a Nigerian father, the Hannover 96 defender still divides opinion in South Africa with many not comfortable with his Nigerian roots.
He could however still play for Nigeria because in FIFA’s eligibility rules, which were amended in September 2020 at their 70th annual congress, the former SuperSport defender has not been tied yet to South Africa and can still change national teams as a dual national, even though he played an official game for Bafana.
In making exceptions to the eligibility of players with dual nationalities, FIFA does not consider international friendly matches when it comes to a player being tied to one particular nation over the other.
Generally, players under the age of 21 are allowed to switch allegiances, provided they have not played more than three competitive matches for that senior national team (games in official continental tournaments or the World Cup), although Okon turned 22 last month.
What would tie the former Matsatsantsa centre-back to Bafana is if he features at the World Cup or had featured at the previous AFCON, although FIFA has made another exception that such a dual national player can still switch to another country, if three years have passed since his last appearance for the country concerned.
Ade Emmanuel
