Moroka Swallows relegated to amateur football

The once-great Johannesburg based club has been relegated for a third year in a row, this time to the amateur fourth division.

Commonly known as “The Birds”, the team is sitting second from the bottom with one round of matches to be played and four points behind their closest rival.

Hopes relied on a negative score for the third from bottom Garankuwa United in their game against Dondol Stars this Wednesday afternoon. The match ended 2-0 to Garankuwa, seeing them move to 28 points and out of the Swallows' reach.

On Saturday, the Birds will play against Orange Vaal Professionals; a game rendered as purely academic, as they will only reach 27 points if they beat their rivals.

Swallows official Godfrey Gxowa, who has been involved with the club for almost 50 years, stated that some of the team’s directors are willing to take over the squad. “There are a number of us who are saddened by what is happening to this club and we are willing to take over and start from scratch‚” Gxowa said.

The once-mighty Moroka Swallows were relegated from the South African Premier Division in the 2014-2015 season. This was the first time the team was relegated since its foundation in 1947. Following this fall from the top level, the club finished bottom of the table in in the 2015-2016 National First Division, and were relegated again, this time to the ABC Motsepe League.

Moroka Swallow’s greatest achievement came in 1965, year in which they won the South African League Title.