Former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Emile Baron is set to receive donations worth R2 million from former Norway club Lillestrøm SK supporters.
This after Baron was reported to be living in poverty on two occasions by Norwegian broadcast television channel TV 2, which has since receved the attention of South African media.
Baron is said to have reached out to the tv channel through an SMS and shared his heartfelt story that he, alongside his family, have been living in the streets and were recently evicted from their one-bedroom home and can barely survive from handouts.
As reported by TimesLive on Wednesday, 1.1 million Kroner (approximately R1.9 million) has been donated by Lillestrøm supporters and opposition clubs, with arrangements for the funds to reach Baron being made.
Nesten 1 million kroner er blitt samlet inn etter at @kanarifansen startet innsamling for hjemløse Emille Baron i Johannesburg. Her redegjør KFL-leder Tony Johansen for hva som nå skjer videre med pengene som er samlet inn. pic.twitter.com/8E3lFZ0ayc
— Lillestrøm SK (@LillestromSK) March 20, 2023
The now 43-year-old moved to Europe early in his career, where he joined Lillestrøm from Hellenic in 1996. He then returned to South African shores, where he signed with Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs in 2005 until 2009.
The shot-stopper then joined Pretoria based outfit SuperSport United, where he spent two seasons until Bidvest Wits came knocking for his services, where his career prematurely ended at the age of 33 through a broken leg injury during their 1-0 narrow defeat to Orlando Pirates on 27 April in 2013.
Baron gained himself six caps for the national team and won Premier Soccer League (PSL) honors with SuperSport during the 2009/10 season.
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