Mohau Nkota on life in Saudi Arabia, leaving Orlando Pirates and the 2026 World Cup

Nkota moved to Al Ettifaq ahead of the 2025/26 season, reportedly for a transfer fee of €1.2 million, and he has notched up two league goals along with two assists across 18 outings so far this term.

However, he has experienced fluctuating involvement with the team in the past few weeks, and he is keen to secure consistent playing minutes as the World Cup draws nearer.

“As Africans, not all of us want to stay in Africa and play in Africa,” he shared with the official Saudi Pro League site. “Most of us want to play overseas. For most of us, that's our wish: to move at an early age and get to experience leagues in other countries.

“I was in the national team camp, and I was called by my agent, who said there’s a club that I’m going to move to in Saudi.

“And then I got a call from the Orlando Pirates chairman, Irvin Khoza, saying it's up to me whether I want to go or not. But I was happy about moving here.

“As Africans, we want to move, we want to explore, we want to experience countries and play in those leagues. So that's what I did. I wanted to move, I wanted to go to other countries and play football.”

Nevertheless, he concedes that departing from the club which shaped his career at Pirates proved challenging.

“It wasn’t easy,” he explained. “It was emotional, leaving the club where you grow up. They taught me a lot of things. In my last week, it wasn’t easy to go in and say goodbye to the guys.

“It was very emotional for me, so I found the last day hard, knowing that I would never see them again. To the Orlando Pirates fans, thank you. I wanted to leave, I wanted to play football, I want to go as far as I can.”

Nkota credits Al Ettifaq skipper Gini Wijnaldum for easing his transition to life in Saudi Arabia.

“When I arrived, I talked to my captain, Gini Wijnaldum,” Nkota recounted. “He’s the one who advised me about the league and told me how things were going to go during the season.

“He said to me, ‘It’s not going to be easy, so you have to work and fight for your position. You have to always be there. Show up, show the coach that you want to play.’ He told me a lot of things, that I need to show myself, who I am, where I come from, so that people can recognise me in the league.

“I didn’t know he was the captain until I asked, and he told me, ‘I’m the captain here, but don’t worry, be free. Don’t be scared to make mistakes. I’m here. We are here to help you as our new teammate. We are here to help you impress and show us what you bring to the team.’”

Nkota acknowledges the difficulty of facing certain defences in the league, yet views every match as an opportunity to learn and develop.

“Coming to play against the best centre-backs in the league, they’re very experienced,” Nkota noted. “They know how to read the game and they’re very good. So, it’s not easy to get past them.

“I’ve learned a lot from them, playing against tough opponents who are top centre-backs and who have played in the top leagues.

“We have a very good team; we have a lot of quality. I believe it’s achievable for us to go to the next round.”

Nkota did not make the cut for Bafana Bafana manager Hugo Broos's squad in the recent friendlies versus Panama, following his omission during the closing rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Currently, his chances of inclusion seem slim, though he remains optimistic about South Africa's potential at the finals.

“Going to the World Cup, we want to make it a dream. We want people to remember what we left at the World Cup,” he stated.

“We want to make sure that we leave a mark, make sure we play our best. And then we hope that something good will come.”