Cape Town City complete signing of Bafana Bafana eligible striker | OneFootball

Cape Town City sign SA eligible forward

Cape Town City/Twitter

Motsepe Foundation Championship side Cape Town City have completed the signing of Dutch center forward Simon van Duivenbooden on a free transfer from Netherlands’ second division outfit Vitesse Arnhem.

The 23-year-old striker, who holds both the Dutch and South African citizenship, which makes him eligible to play for the South African national team, has been unattached since parting ways with Vitesse at the end of last season.

Duivenbooden played 16 matches in the Eerste Divisie last season, starting eight of those encounters and making as many appearances off the bench. The player endured a tumultuous season with zero goals and assists to his name.

The dual citizenship holder is the third signing for the Cape club as they already secured the services of Dutch goalkeeper Mickey van der Hart from SC Heerenveen and former Mamelodi Sundowns defender Sfiso Ngobeni.

As a result of their relegation to the second-tier of South African football, City parted ways with a host of seasoned campaigners, including the long-serving duo of captain Thamsanqa Mkhize and dynamic midfielder Thabo Nodada.

Other notable departures include experienced shot-stopper Darren Keet, attacking midfielder Haashim Domingo, Fortune Makaringe, Elson Sithole and Kamohelo Mokotjo, while the club made a U-turn on the exit of Lorenzo Gordinho.

The Citizens had a dismal 2024/25 campaign in the Betway Premiership, registering a 15th place finish, which saw them participate in the PSL Promotional/Relegation play-offs. Orbit College won the mini league and gained promotion to the elite league, sealing City’s fate.

Jan Vreman’s side is expected to make more signings in a bid to seal immediate automatic promotion to the topflight division. The Cape club will begin life in the second-tier with a clash against Venda FC at Athlone Stadium.