René Ponk is a football goalkeeper from the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, who last played for HFC Haarlem

HFC Haarlem

HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889. The club won the Dutch national title in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912...

 in the Dutch second division, the Eerste Divisie

Eerste Divisie

The Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...

. He previously played for FC Utrecht, VVV-Venlo, SD Compostela

SD Compostela

Sociedade Deportiva Compostela also known as Compostela is a Spanish football team based in Santiago de Compostela, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded on 26 June 1962, it currently plays in Preferente Autonómica.-History:...

 in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and FC Dordrecht

FC Dordrecht

FC Dordrecht is a football club from the city of Dordrecht in the Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie.- History :Founded on 16 August 1883 as Dordrechtsche Football Club , it became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands...

.

He is particularly venerated in Swansea, South Wales, both for his footballing and humanitarian work within the local community. A lobby group has long called for a bronze statue of Ponk to be erected on Pentre-Mawr Road, in the Hafod area of the city. Many motorists show their support for this by giving a 'Honk for Ponk' as they drive past the intended site.