One of South Africa’s football export memorial service will be held at the ‘Calabash’ FNB Stadium, Soweto, famous for hosting the opening and closing of the historical 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa in partnership with Gauteng Sport, Art, Culture and Recreation Department, SASCOC, SAFA, City of Joburg and the City of Tshwane, have jointly come on board to honour our fallen gallant.
“Kalamazoo” was the first black South African player to ply his trade for top teams in Europe.
He played for Durban Bush Bucks (SA), Newcastle United, Coventry City, Heracles Almelo, Cardiff City, FC Barcelona, Marseille, Torino, Valencia and Sunshine George Cross in Australia before retiring in Canada.
That’s a thick history no South African footballer has ever surpassed.
In 1996 he founded the Kalamazoo South African Foundation; and was inducted into the SA Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Dutch sports journalist Tom Egbers wrote a novel based on Mokone, which was made into a movie in 2000; both novel and movie are called The Black Meteor (De Zwarte Meteoor).
He was the recipient of the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold, one of the highest accolades in SA from President JG Zuma.
Mokone died in Washington on 20 March 2015, in the comfort of his family.
The memorial takes place on April 11 from 9am until 12pm. Entrance is FREE.
Its’ history like this that makes one to declare unequivocally that, I’m proud to be a South African!
Rre Mokone your legacy indeed lives on- Pula!
