South Africa's football legend dead at 61

25 Juin 2020

Cape Town, South Africa, June 25 (Infosplusgabon) – Tributes are pouring in for South African football legend Lawrence Chelin who has died after a long struggle with cancer. He was 61.

Chelin‚ who played for Kaizer Chiefs, Durban United and the Atlanta Chiefs in the USA, also represented South Africa in the 1970s.

In 1977, he played in South Africa’s historic multiracial match against Rhodesia with his side winning 7-0. PANA reports that the irony of that occasion was that both countries were effectively on their knees, churning towards an inevitable meltdown that would change the landscape of the entire sub-continent forever.

And, in an interesting aside, when these liberated nations met 18 years later, Rhodesia had become Zimbabwe, Salisbury had been renamed Harare and South Africa, reeling from decades of sporting isolation, was savaged 4-1. The years of isolation had taken a significant toll.

Former player Colin Gie said Chelin and Jomo Sono were “by far the best white and black South African legends that I ever had the privilege to play with in the same team – both world class in my book”.

Former South African national team coach Gordon Igesund told Infosplusgabon he was “one of the greatest players this continent ever produced”.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/OLK/GABON2020

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