Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha points out weakness in South African players – ‘They’re too comfortable’

Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha has challenged South African players to get out of their comfort zone and make a move abroad.

Despite conceding that the Premier Soccer League is doing well and has immensely contributed to the growth of Bafana Bafana, Okocha, who played in Germany, France, England, and Turkey in his 20-year career, feels Mzansi footballers are not as ambitious as the Nigerians.

The now 52-year-old insists hunger and desire can push many players to consider featuring in leagues abroad.

South African players lack the drive?

“First of all, you must have the desire to become the best version of yourself; For you to make a name for yourself globally, you must get out of your comfort zone, and this is the problem,” Okocha told Radio2000.

“It is my opinion that South African players are too comfortable at home. That drive is not really there, but we Nigerians, we’re very ambitious people. We like to challenge ourselves. Of course, when you come to a country like Germany, you have to try to socialise and understand the culture of the people.

“You have to be willing to learn the language and just learn in general. It’s a lot easier if you have people who mentor you, but it’s also about how you present yourself. If you show that you’re willing to learn, then your stay will be a lot easier. My advice is just to be open and make sure you have that hunger and desire to become the best version of yourself,” he added.

Happy days for South African football

Bafana Bafana are among the teams that will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

“It’s happy days for South African football, and it’s well deserved because they worked for it. They invested in the local league, and they are reaping the rewards of it because most of these players are playing in the local league,” the former midfielder continued.

“That’s the impressive part of it because it shows how strong the South African league is, even though I think that you need to have more players playing in Europe, but of course, you have to appreciate the work and the way things have worked out for South African football,” Okocha concluded.