Swallows coach, Dylan Kerr, in partnership with Boots for Africa & Swallows FC will hand over more than 180 pairs of boots to under-resourced players in Polokwane this weekend.
Kerr tweeted in October 2020
This is football ….. These boys don’t have boots so they share so when a player is subbed or changed they take their boots off for the next player to wear and even more strange is some are too small for the boots but they don’t care I LOVE AFRICAN Football @SAFA_net pic.twitter.com/kAR4J7km1T
His tweet was picked up by West Ham fan Darren Lilley, who spurred members of various Scottish clubs, including Kilmarnock FC (where Kerr played in his youth before going on to play for Scotland) to hold a collection drive for the kids in Africa. Ahu Amateurs FC, Helensburgh FC and Bowers Pitsea FC also got on board.
John Hall of Brownings, the bakers famous for the Killie Pie, transported the boxes of boots and sneakers from Scotland to Essex and, with the help of Boots for Africa and Bollore Logistics, these were then shipped to South Africa. These, along with others donated by Liz Taylor and her family from Glasgow and Cumbernauld United 2008, will be handed over to players from 4 schools and 1 academy this coming weekend.
Kerr identified these recipients during his time as coach at TTM FC (where he guided them to their first ever victory in the Nedbank Cup). Although COVID restrictions delayed the shipment for more than 18 months, Kerr has kept his promise to the players and returns to Limpopo this weekend to personally hand over the much-needed equipment to these talented players.
Gavin Hendry, Chairman of Boots for Africa, said, “We are honoured to play a part in Dylan’s initiative. Having the right equipment makes a massive difference and enables players to reach their full potential. We receive over 1000 requests a week for donations, which we just can’t fulfil. Dylan has certainly led the way with this initiative. We hope other coaches and managers will follow his example, sowing back into the communities they are passionate about.”
Also, Dylan Kerr personally wants to thank everyone involved in this especially the effort by Boots for Africa & Bollore Logistics for everything, it’s been amazing and on Sunday we will deliver.
