Former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Emile Baron has received nearly R2 million in donations from fans of his former club Lillestrøm after they were made aware of the sad state of the retired player.
Baron last played professional football in a 1-0 defeat with Bidvest Wits against Orlando Pirates when he broke his leg on 27 April in 2013.
He has since fallen into poverty and struggled to make ends meet for his wife and two teenage sons. Baron’s situation was brought to the public by Norwegian channel TV 2, which did two reports on the former goalkeeper.
Baron admitted that things got so bad he tried to take his life four times, most recently in November, while he also got evicted from a small one-bedroom house recently.
“Things are worse now. My wife and I have been sleeping on the street lately, the children are doing well so far,” Baron wrote via an SMS to TV 2.
Upon hearing the sad news around Baron’s situation, fans of Lillestrøm, the club Baron played for between 1999 and 2005, called for a massive donation drive in Norway, with donations coming from nearly 5,000 people.
“There are many people who were very upset to see how Emile is doing. There are many, many people who want to contribute,” Morten Stokstad, media and communications manager at Lillestrøm told TV 2 after the club had teamed up with official supporters’ group, Kanari-Fansen.
Even current Norway coach Ståle Solbakken, who played for Lillestrøm himself, has contributed a “significant amount”, telling TV 2: “It was a sad reading”.
Baron, who also played for Hellenic, Chiefs and SuperSport, was left speechless for the massive amount of support he received. “I’m speechless. I don’t know how to express my gratitude, it’s so overwhelming. Thank you very much,” he told TV 2 in another SMS.
Overall, 1.1 million Kroner (around R1.9 million) were collected from Lillestrøm fans and well wishers all across Norway, as reported by TimesLIVE.
Baron opened up about his financial troubles in 2019, saying he did not receive insurance money from the PSL after his injury. He also stated local clubs did not answer his appeals for help.
The now 43-year-old started his career at Hellenic in 1996, before moving abroad to Lillestrøm. After his return to South Africa, he played for Kaizer Chiefs between 2005 and 2009. He then joined SuperSport United for two seasons, before two years at Bidvest Wits ahead of his career-ending injury.
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He won the Premier Soccer League with SuperSport in 2009/10 and represented Bafana Bafana six times, including twice at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.
