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Recently capped South African defender Ime Okon is still eligible to play for Nigeria’s senior team despite making his debut for South Africa in the recent friendly matches against Panama.
Okon played in both games against Panama as he tried to force his way into the plans of coach Hugo Broos, who is putting the finishing touches on his 26-man World Cup roster in June.
Born to a South African mother and Nigerian father, the Hannover 96 defender still divides opinion in South Africa with many uncomfortable with his Nigerian roots.
However, he could still play for Nigeria because according to FIFA’s eligibility rules, which were amended in September 2020 at its 70th annual congress, the former SuperSport defender is not yet linked to South Africa and can still switch national teams as a dual national, even though he played one official match for Bafana.
When making exceptions to the eligibility of players with dual nationality, FIFA does not consider international friendly matches when it involves a player linked to one particular nation over another.
Generally, players under the age of 21 can change allegiance, as long as they have not played more than three competitive matches for that senior national team (matches in official continental tournaments or the World Cup), although Okon turned 22 last month.
What would link the former Matsatsantsa centre-back to Bafana is whether he participates in the World Cup or participated in the previous AFCON, although FIFA has made another exception: a player with dual nationality can still switch to another country, if three years have passed since his last appearance for the country in question.
Ade Emmanuel
