Nkota joined Al Ettifaq at the start of the 2025/26 season for a reported fee of €1.2 million and has two league goals and two assists in 18 appearances this campaign.
He has been in and out of the side in recent weeks, though, and will want more regular game time leading up to the World Cup.
“As Africans, not all of us want to stay in Africa and play in Africa,” he told the official Saudi Pro League website. “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.”
But he admits it was hard to remove himself from the environment that had made him a professional player at Pirates.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “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 says he was helped to settle in Saudi Arabia by Al Ettifaq captain Gini Wijnaldum.
“When I arrived, I talked to my captain, Gini Wijnaldum,” Nkota said. “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 admits he has found it tough against some of the defences he has come up against, but each game is a learning experience and a chance to grow as a player.
“Coming to play against the best centre-backs in the league, they’re very experienced,” Nkota said. “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 was not selected by Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos for the two friendly matches against Panama, having also been left out in the latter stages of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
At the moment, the odds are probably against him being selected, but he says Bafana Bafana can make an impact at the tournament.
“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 said.
“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.”