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Veldwijk: I am open to playing in South Africa one day

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Lars Veldwijk of South Africa
  • Post published:June 17, 2020

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors forward Lars Veldwijk has revealed that he would be open to one day playing in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

The 28-year-old is currently plying his trade in the South Korea K League 1 after joining Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in January.

Veldwijk has vast experience playing in the Netherlands for FC Dordrecht, SBV Excelsior Rotterdam, PEC Zwolle, FC Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam as well as English and Belgian clubs Nottingham Forest and KV Kortrijk.

Having already represented Bafana Bafana, Veldwijk has never played in South Africa and is open to the idea of playing in the PSL in the future.

‘I would love to stay in Asia for maybe two or three years. It’s a great place for a football player. I am also open to maybe one day play in South Africa,’ Veldwijk told BBC Sport.

‘I love to see the world and to see other places and in combination with football. I think I have the best job in the world.’

Veldwijk, who has scored one goal and started two of his six league appearances for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, said everything is ‘back to normal’ in South Korea and that people are following the proper protocols to stay safe from the coronavirus.

‘For the past month, it’s [Covid-19] very good and under control here. Cases are low and everything is normal and the restaurants are full, the supermarkets are full with people. People here follow the rules of the government really good. So, yeah, life went back to normal,’ he added.

‘Everybody had to be tested before the league could start, so everybody went through the drive-through and that is a corona test. When we come to the training ground, we get this temperature check. If you are not feeling well or if you have been to places where there is a little bit of more coronavirus, they are really careful with that.

‘And in games here it’s really strange. Everybody is wearing a mask on the bus and at the stadium, you are not allowed to shake hands. Everybody has to have his own [water or energy drink] bottle with his number on it, so we are not allowed to drink from another bottle.

‘We are checked every day and like in training it’s always been normal for example we play duels, we don’t have to be distant. Tackles are allowed, so yeah in that kind of thing I am really happy that training is still normal.’