Dutch-born Lars Velwijk follows line of foreign-born Bafana Bafana players

28 October 2016 - 15:26 By Nick Said

Should Lars Veldwijk make his debut for Bafana Bafana next month he will become the eighth player born outside of the country to represent the senior national team. Some past Bafana stars were born in neighbouring states and others have come from as far afield as England‚ Wales and Greece.Dutch-born Veldwijk would be the first player from the Netherlands to star for the national team; former goalkeeper Hans Vonk hails from much closer to home - in Alberton.Veldwijk qualifies for the country through his South African-born father‚ but the player has never set foot in Mzansi. The first time he will do this is when he arrives for camp ahead of the Fifa World Cup qualifier against Senegal on November 12 and a possible friendly against Mozambique three days later. Wits University defender Mike Rowbotham‚ born in Sheffield‚ England‚ was the first foreign-born player to represent the national side when he appeared in two matches in South Africa’s first year back in the international fold in 1992.The first was a 4-0 hammering by Nigeria in Lagos and the second a much more satisfactory 1-0 home win over Congo-Brazzaville.Goalkeeper Roger de Sa‚ who earned a single cap in a 3-0 loss to Zambia in 1993‚ was born in Maputo and spent the early part of his childhood in Mozambique.Former SuperSport United striker Glen Salmon‚ who spent much of his playing career in Holland‚ has a similar tale; he was born in Harare but moved to South Africa when he was three years old. For such an accomplished player‚ it is a mystery why he won only three national team caps.Beanpole striker George Koumantarakis was born in the Greek capital of Athens‚ but grew up in Durban and would later win a league championship with local side Manning Rangers.He would have a good career in Switzerland and England‚ and won 12 national team caps‚ playing at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.Former Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows defender Gary McNab was born in Scotland and was on the cusp of his 30th birthday when he debuted for Bafana against Swaziland in a 4-1 win in 2002. He won one more cap against Malawi a month later. Phil Evans was born in the Welsh capital Cardiff but raised in Pretoria and won 10 caps for Bafana between 2003 and 2005. He played locally for SuperSport United and Wits University.The final Bafana international born outside of the country so far is Bongani Khumalo‚ who can also count Swaziland as home.The current Wits defender relocated to South Africa early on and would make his breakthrough at University of Pretoria. He is the most capped foreign-born star having played for the national team on 42 occasions. - TMG Digital Sport ..

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