Dion’s Cote d’Ivoire hopes remain slim while he plays in Africa

Junior Dion faces only a two percent chance of representing Cote d’Ivoire while he remains with an African club, according to fellow Ivorian Brice Aka.

The Golden Arrows striker has revived his career since joining the club at the beginning of last season. He finished as the league’s leading scorer in the previous campaign with 15 goals and has continued that form in 2026/27, scoring four times so far.

Dion, 27, is Ivorian but was called up by Chad last year after obtaining documentation that made him eligible to play for them. He eventually chose not to honour the call-up following a series of deliberations, meaning he remains available to Cote d’Ivoire.

However, Aka believes Dion’s prospects of breaking into the Elephants squad are extremely limited while he plays in the PSL.

“The reality about Cote d’Ivoire is that Dion only has a two percent chance of playing for the national team while he is with a club in Africa,” said Aka, who played in the PSL during his career and experienced similar difficulties.

Cote d’Ivoire’s current attack is led by Yan Diomande of Real Madrid, with the rest of the squad featuring players from leading clubs in England, Italy and France.

“That is the reality with our national team,” Aka added.

“Outfield players stand no chance of playing for the national team while playing in Africa.

“The only players who can break into the senior team while still playing in Africa are goalkeepers.

“In Cote d’Ivoire they only believe in Europe and so they will not even look at him [Dion].

“Even if they call him, fans will ask: ‘Who is he?’

“They have raised the bar like that.”

Aka questioned why players based in Africa appear to receive less recognition, pointing to South Africa’s experience with Bafana.

“But then at times I ask myself why there seems to be less confidence in players in Africa when Bafana went to the World Cup with locally based players and did better than players in Europe,” he said.

Aka believes the PSL could provide a strong source of talent for national teams in West Africa if it received greater respect.

“South Africa is a good league that can feed West African national teams if given the respect it deserves,” he said.

“Right now, Dion has more appetite than some players with European teams.

“But then it is difficult to convince Ivorians that a good player from Cote d’Ivoire can play in the PSL.”