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

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  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

Gang fires on police chopper with assault rifles after heist near Bloemfontein

03 September 2019 - 15:07BY IAVAN PIJOOS
The G4S cash van was travelling from Bloemfontein in the direction of Botshabelo when it was ambushed by a gang in a double-cab bakkie and a sedan.
The G4S cash van was travelling from Bloemfontein in the direction of Botshabelo when it was ambushed by a gang in a double-cab bakkie and a sedan.
Image: Reza via Twitter
Nearly a dozen gunmen armed with assault rifles ambushed and blew apart a cash-in-transit van travelling on the N8 near Bloemfontein on Tuesday afternoon.
Police spokesperson Lt-Col Brenda Muridili said the cash van was travelling from Bloemfontein towards Botshabelo when it was cornered by a double-cab bakkie and a sedan.
Around 10 gunmen fired shots in the direction of the van, puncturing the tyres and bringing it to a halt.
"The suspects instructed the crew to exit the vehicle, threatening them with explosives."
Muridili said the gang blew up the van, causing extensive damage to the loading bins and safes. The suspects escaped with an undisclosed sum of money and firearms taken from the security guards.
The van driver sustained knee injuries while another guard was shot in the hand.   
Muridili said the gang opened fire on a police helicopter that was in the area, forcing it to make an emergency landing.
No arrests were made.
The Hawks have taken over the investigation.

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