It was a very long trip that took us around 30 hours to finally reach our destination and there are strict protocols we had to adhere to upon arrival.

We flew via Ethiopia, we had a quick stop over and left for Tokyo.

We are currently in Tokyo, Japan at the 2020 Olympic village.

They are very strict as far as Covid19 is concerned, they have protocols that one has to adhere to and we are requested to fill in a daily medical screening application.

As a senior player, I’m here to do my job which is to play football and hopefully inspire the younger players and guide them as I’ve been playing football at the highest level for over 10 years now, so I’ll be sharing my experiences with them.

This is a massive personal achievement, one that I dreamt of, it’s a huge honour representing my country at such a prestigious event.

Hopefully some of the players can secure their dream move, this is a perfect opportunity to showcase our talents and capabilities.

SuperSport United Football Club is known to produce quality players through our academy programme and it’s down to coaches like Kwanele Kopo and others who guided us, it’s so special having him (Kopo) here as well as some of my current teammates (Luke Fleurs and Teboho Mokoena) and ex-teammates (Kamohelo Mahlatsi, Mondli Mpoto and Katleho Mohamme), it’s a positive sign for the club.

Mondli has done so well for the junior national teams, I’m proud of him as I’ve seen him work his way through the academy into the professional setup, we always had a good relationship so it’s good working with him again.

It is very hot and humid in Tokyo, we have a week or so to acclimatize before the matches start.

We will do our utmost best to represent the country well, be safe back home, continue following Covid19 protocols, we have come so far and shouldn’t give in now.

Ronwen Williams SuperSport United Captain and SA Under23 Tokyo Olympics squad member