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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana defender Anele Ngcongca admits that overseas moves are in the minds of players during the African Cup of Nations.
Ngcongca himself made the move to Europe at a young age, the 27-year old having joined his current club, Belgium outfit Racing Genk, in 2007.
Ngcongca understands that players still plying their trades in domestic leagues across Africa are likely to try and use the AFCON tournament as a springboard, although he has also cautioned against those focusing too much on their individual performances.
"Yes, it’s a good tournament to market yourself but we must always keep in mind that the team comes first; if the team wins, you also win.
"It is important for all the players to stand up and be counted, to impress so they can maybe get contracts outside the country which would be a good thing so that South Africa can also have more players playing abroad for the betterment of the team," said Ngcongca.
"The coach always tells us to go out there and do our best, and you can’t stop a player from playing for himself to get that lucrative contract and this is the correct stage to do that, but at the back of our minds we must always remember to play for the team," he added.
Ngcongca and his South African team-mates get their first taste of the 2015 AFCON tournament when they clash with Algeria on Monday night.
Ngcongca himself made the move to Europe at a young age, the 27-year old having joined his current club, Belgium outfit Racing Genk, in 2007.
Ngcongca understands that players still plying their trades in domestic leagues across Africa are likely to try and use the AFCON tournament as a springboard, although he has also cautioned against those focusing too much on their individual performances.
"Yes, it’s a good tournament to market yourself but we must always keep in mind that the team comes first; if the team wins, you also win.
"It is important for all the players to stand up and be counted, to impress so they can maybe get contracts outside the country which would be a good thing so that South Africa can also have more players playing abroad for the betterment of the team," said Ngcongca.
"The coach always tells us to go out there and do our best, and you can’t stop a player from playing for himself to get that lucrative contract and this is the correct stage to do that, but at the back of our minds we must always remember to play for the team," he added.
Ngcongca and his South African team-mates get their first taste of the 2015 AFCON tournament when they clash with Algeria on Monday night.
