Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history

-
Image
  By Andrew Aloia BBC Sport Last updated on 11 October 2021 11 October 2021 . From the section Football Watson was a trailblazer who helped transform how football was played There are two murals of black footballers facing one another across an alleyway in Glasgow. One helped shape football as we know it, the other is Pele. Andrew Watson captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England on his debut in 1881. He was a pioneer, the world's first black international, but for more than a century the significance of his achievements went unrecognised. Research conducted over the past three decades has left us with some biographical details: a man descended of slaves and of those who enslaved them, born in Guyana, raised to become an English gentleman and famed as one of Scottish football's first icons. And yet today, 100 years on from his death aged 64, Watson remains something of an enigma, the picture built around him a fractured one. His grainy, faded, sepia image evokes many differen...
Post a Comment

Zaka residents warn of worsening violence in Masvingo (more on my father's attack)

-
Residents in Zaka have warned that there is worsening violence in Masvingo
province, with ZANU PF being blamed for a growing number of attacks and
incidents of intimidation.

Most recently, the ward chairman of the MDC-T in Zaka Central was
hospitalised along with his wife after their home was petrol bombed by
suspected ZANU PF members last week. Nelson Bvudzijena and his wife were
rushed to St. Anthony’s Musiso hospital with reportedly serious injuries.

A resident in Zaka told SW Radio Africa this week that the attack on the
Bvudzijena home followed a confrontation between the ward chairman and a
gang of known ZANU PF thugs. The argument is believed to have been about
Bvudzijena’s loyalties to the MDC, which prompted the ZANU PF members to
threaten him. The thugs are said to have warned Bvudzijena that they “would
come for him at night.” Days later, Bvudzijena’s home was burned down while
was sleeping.

The resident explained that not one of the perpetrators of the arson attack
was arrested, despite the group openly bragging about the incident. The same
group is believed to have assaulted a number of other people in Zaka last
week, and have threatened to repeat the same violence seen in the province
during the 2008 elections.

The resident told SW Radio Africa that people are living in fear, because
the memories of the violence in 2008 are still strong.

“Things are so bad that right now I am looking around to see that no one
hears me. If they heard me talking like this I could be in danger,” the
resident said.

The MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai visited Bvudzijena over the weekend,
during a memorial service held in honour of MDC members who were murdered in
Zaka district at the height of the 2008 election period. Tsvangirai said:
“We need justice to prevail because we are going for a crucial election and
the fear factor has to be dealt with. We are aware ZANU PF is involved in
military actions that are being planned against unarmed civilians.”

“(Robert) Mugabe is a hypocrite because he is only shedding crocodile tears
calling for an end to violence when he is not keen to stop violence,”
Tsvangirai said, adding: “We are tired of being fooled around with by ZANU
PF.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If everyone on Earth sat in the ocean at once, how much would sea level rise?

-
Image
  There are a lot of people, but the oceans are very big.   Rosley Majid/EyeEm via Getty Images If everyone on Earth sat in the ocean at once, how much would sea level rise? March 29, 2021 2.07pm SAST Author Tony E. Wong Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology Disclosure statement Tony E. Wong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Partners Rochester Institute of Technology  provides funding as a member of The Conversation US. The Conversation is funded by the National Research Foundation, eight universities, including the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Rhodes University, Stellenbosch University and the Universities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pretoria, and South Africa. It is hosted by the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Wester...
Read more

Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history

-
Image
  By Andrew Aloia BBC Sport Last updated on 11 October 2021 11 October 2021 . From the section Football Watson was a trailblazer who helped transform how football was played There are two murals of black footballers facing one another across an alleyway in Glasgow. One helped shape football as we know it, the other is Pele. Andrew Watson captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England on his debut in 1881. He was a pioneer, the world's first black international, but for more than a century the significance of his achievements went unrecognised. Research conducted over the past three decades has left us with some biographical details: a man descended of slaves and of those who enslaved them, born in Guyana, raised to become an English gentleman and famed as one of Scottish football's first icons. And yet today, 100 years on from his death aged 64, Watson remains something of an enigma, the picture built around him a fractured one. His grainy, faded, sepia image evokes many differen...
Read more

Are there any planets outside of our solar system?

-
Image
  Academic rigour, journalistic flair COVID-19 Arts  +  Culture Business  +  Economy Education Environment  +  Energy Health  +  Medicine Politics Science  +  Technology In French Artist illustration of an exoplanet.  dottedhippo/iStock via Getty Images Are there any planets outside of our solar system? July 19, 2021 2.06pm SAST Author Jean-Luc Margot Professor of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles Disclosure statement Jean-Luc Margot receives funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and philanthropists. Partners University of California  provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US. The Conversation is funded by the National Research Foundation, eight universities, including the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Rhodes University, Stellenbosch University and the Universities of Cape Town, Johannesb...
Read more