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
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The ups and downs of farming

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 BY GCIS VUK'UZENZELE - 26 February 2020 - 07:00

Njabulo Mbokane, emerging farmer.
Njabulo Mbokane, emerging farmer.
Image: Supplied.

A young female maize farmer is taking giant leaps towards becoming a successful commercial farmer.

Njabulo Mbokane (24), the owner of a 200-hectare non-genetically modified organism yellow maize farm, was recently named the South African Breweries (SAB) and FarmSol Young Emerging Farmer of the Year.

The Ermelo-based farmer leases two farms; one in her hometown; where she grows crops, and the other in Lothair; where she raises sheep.

Despite only starting farming in 2016, Mbokane already has a year-on-year maize contract with SAB.

She is part of the FarmSol programme, which is an SAB Thrive Fund initiative aimed at funding Agri-SMMEs; providing technical training and support to emerging farmers; giving access to modern production inputs and patient financing to qualifying enterprises and enabling emerging farmers to find a route to market for their produce.

“FarmSol mentors us and helps us with training. It also assists us in taking samples of the maize and soil.” Mbokane was financially unable to study further after matric but knew that agriculture held many opportunities for people with the will to work hard.

“I started farming because I saw a gap that young people should explore and I went for it.”

Mbokane employs three permanent staff members and hires 15 seasonal employees during peak periods. She is looking to expand her operations to include cattle and vegetables once she has secured her own land and farming equipment.

Having her own tractors, for instance, will enable her to plant on time whereas with hired equipment, she can only plant when the tractor owner has finished his planting.

Mbokane started the farm with her mother’s pension payout and said that young people need not wait for a big break before making a start on their farming dream. “Start with the little that you have, even if it’s the garden in your backyard, and grow from there,” she said.

-This article was originally published in the GCIS Vuk'uzenzele.

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