The Dube Birds travel to Orange Vaal Professionals on Saturday afternoon in the last round match of the Gauteng ABC Motsepe League knowing that only victory will save them from the ignominy of being relegated to the amateur fourth division.
Swallows were relegated from the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in May 2015‚ followed by another relegation to the National First Division (NFD) last year and dropping to the SAB regional League will see a proud history of more than 70 years go down the drain.
Swallows go into the last round of matches having played 29 matches where they accumulated 24 points from five wins‚ nine draws‚ 15 losses and they trail third from the bottom Vaal Professionals by two points.
Swallows‚ which has produced many star players since its formation in 1947‚ find themselves in this undesirable situation as a result of many years of poor administration and squabbles over ownership.
Over the years‚ Swallows produced many household names like Andries “Chaka-Chaka” Mpondo‚ Thomas “Who’s Fooling Who” Hlongwane‚ Joel “Ace” Mnini‚ Mike “Sporo” Mangena‚ Aubrey “The Great” Makgopela‚ William “Khura” Makhura‚ Aubrey “The beast” Seboko to name a few.
Players like Eric “Dambai” Ramasike‚ Sipho Sikhonde‚ Steve Sekano‚ Joseph “Manelo” Rapelego‚ Marcus Mphafudi‚ Jerry Mokgaledise‚ Percival Molotsane‚ Edward “Magents” Motale‚ Aubrey “Sense of Knowledge” Lekoane also played for the Dube Birds.
They were followed by a generation that boasted stars like Jacob Lekgetho and Jaconia “The Bull” Cibi‚ Steve “Chippa” Lekoelea‚ Peter “Big Six” Rabolele‚ Patrick Ningiza and Scara Ngobese.
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