Polokwane City captain Puleng Marema was emotional after his side secured promotion to the DStv Premiership at the old Peter Mokaba stadium on Sunday, saying the victory was for his late father and uncle, who both passed away in the last year.
Marema scored the second goal in City’s 4-0 win over Pretoria Callies on the final day, as they finished first on the Motsepe Foundation Championship log with 57 points.
The 32-year-old striker is the only surviving member of the side that got relegated to the National First Division three seasons ago.
He says his emotions aren’t just because City is back in the premier division but also because of his tough moment for his family after his late uncle was buried on Saturday, a funeral he couldn’t attend.
“I’m too emotional, I don’t know what to say. I tried two times, we failed. This season, I said you know what ‘I’m going to try again’,” Marema said after the match.
“It was difficult last season. I lost my father this year, I lost my uncle a few days ago. So this is for them.
“I wanted to promote this team. Everyone wrote me off, saying why am I still here, I don’t deserve to be here. So here I am today, I am a champion and I’m a winner.
“Like I said the past few years were difficult for me, last year I lost my father, this year I lost my uncle. I couldn’t go to the funeral yesterday, so today I had to score, it’s for him and to win the championship is for my father.
“I’m happy. I’m proud of the boys we gave everything, we did everything right so I’m proud of my boys.
“Thanks to the chairman he has faith in me. When we got relegated [AND] everyone left, I said ‘I’m not going anywhere, I’m going to take this team back to where it belongs’ and here I am today.”
