Vitesse striker Simon van Duivenbooden is officially eligible to represent Bafana Bafana after receiving his paperwork to be declared a South African citizen.
The 22-year-old is currently in Cape Town where he received his passport and identity documents at home affairs, as he switched national allegiance from the Netherlands.
Currently, still contracted to the Dutch side, the towering striker who was previously on the books of PSV Eindhoven, is now looking to get his career back on track.
Having missed out on the entire 2023/24 season due to registration issues after his loan to Belgian club Patro Eisden was cut short due to injury, he’s now preparing to return to the Netherlands imminently to begin pre-season with the Eerste Divisie club.
Van Duivenbooden netted 34 goals in 64 games in the development of Vitesse before his first-team promotion, where he scored one goal in 11 games in the Dutch top-flight.
“My dad was born in South Africa, and a lot of my family live here,” he told iDiski Times.
“I think South Africa is a very beautiful country and I always wanted to play for South Africa when I was younger, when I got the opportunity to get citizenship, I thought it was perfect.
“I want to play for South Africa and I will work hard this season to get the attention of the national team coaches.”
In 2022 after scoring his first goal in the Eredivisie, the South African Football Association made contact with Van Duivenbooden via former U23 head coach David Notoane but since the failure to qualify for the Olympics, plans for the U23 squad were put on hold.
