In the midst of Swallows FC’s battle for survival, head coach Dylan Kerr took some time out to give back to the people of Polokwane ahead of their clash against Marumo Gallants on Sunday afternoon.
The 55-year-old coach, together with the Boots For Africa initiative, donated over 200 soccer boots to local male and female football players in Polokwane.
Kerr is a popular figure in Limpopo. After leaving Kenyan giants Gor Mahia in 2018, he joined Black Leopards before moving to Baroka as he ensured that both teams survived the dreaded drop.
Last season, he returned to Lidoda Duvha but that was short-lived.
It was at Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, another Limpopo-based outfit, that he enjoyed unprecedented success after he ensured that they survived relegation and won the Nedbank Cup in their first season in the top-flight.
“Ndaa (which means hello in TshiVenda),” said Kerr as he greeted the masses that gathered for his giving back ceremony in Polokwane according to the visuals of LimSportsZone.
“We are here to give away 250 takkies and boots to local children from Limpopo and Polokwane rural areas. There are good teams that are coming from here. And it’s good to see the ladies teams as well.
DYLAN CARES
Swallows coach Dylan Kerr and @bootsforafrica donated over 200 soccer boots to local male and female football teams in Polokwane this morning. #LimSportsZone pic.twitter.com/Oo8gIYswXG
“But it all started in one picture that I tweeted 18 months ago when I went to a football tournament where I saw one kid take his boots off on the sidelines and the other one put them on.
"It was just one of those moments where I took the picture and put it on Twitter and my friend, who’s a huge Tottenham Hotspur fan, put out an appeal to clubs to donate boots and football equipment.
“In total we got over 1 000 pairs of boots and we’ve been able to split them, others were sent to Gambia and Sierra Leone and we brought the majority to South Africa, in Limpopo.”
After that initiative, Kerr will be eager to walk away with three points from Polokwane against Gallants in an effort to keep Swallows’ chances of avoiding relegation alive.
Swallows are 15th on the log with 19 points, one ahead of basement dwellers and his former employers Baroka.
@MihlaliBaleka