Past beauty dims for Birds

Sy Lerman

Little more than two years ago it would have been unthinkable that Moroka Swallows, the “Beautiful Birds” of South African football for a period of approximately 60 years since the club’s inception in 1947, would plunge back to earth and surrender their place in the Absa Premiership.

What has materialised now, however, is a calamity of wellnigh disbelief, with the feathers of Birds ruffled almost beyond recognition as the former Soweto giants are tottering on the verge of relegation from Safa’s Motsepe League – effectively the third division of South African football.

Going into the weekend, Swallows are in 15th position in the Gauteng segment of the Motsepe League, with the fate of finishing in one of the two relegation spots beyond their control even if victory is achieved – and dependent also on fellow-relegation candidates Garankuwa United losing.

Through the morass of the club falling apart is the damning indictment that no past, present or future Swallows stalwarts of note and substance have emerged to answer the club’s dire SOS.

A well-intentioned, but mishandled initiative for Swallows to regain Premiership status before the start of the present season through the purchase of Free State Stars’ PSL status for a fee of R50 million or more turned out to be no more than pie in the sky.

And the PSL, when approached, were unable even to state who was currently in charge of the affairs of the Birds – “as they are no longer within our jurisdiction as a member of the Safa-controlled Motsepe League.”

So who is to save Swallows from possible extinction? One-time political and business icon Tokyo Sexwale, is only one of a number of well-known former Birds diehards tipped to step in.

But so far there appears no response – and without a saviour of substance, no one knows where the Birds will go if they are banished via relegation from the Motsepe League.