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

Whoever replaces Mogoeng when he makes his welcome departure will need gravitas and wisdom

 Barney Mthombothi

28 March 2021 - 00:00

There will be obvious sighs of relief in the more sober quarters of the government - and among some of his berobed colleagues - that chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng's less-than-stellar term is mercifully coming to an end soon. One hopes that when he steps down in September, the country can then elect a replacement who will not only command the respect of his peers, but will be able to steady the ship in what looks like treacherous political waters ahead.

Mogoeng is no intellectual giant and was a complete unknown when Jacob Zuma plucked him from obscurity and plonked him down in the apex court in 2009. Two years later he was catapulted over more experienced colleagues to be chief justice...

This article is reserved for Sunday Times subscribers.

A subscription gives you full digital access to all Sunday Times content.

Already subscribed? Simply sign in below.

Registered on the BusinessLIVE, Business Day or Financial Mail websites? Sign in with the same details.

 

Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Inside Xanadu 2.0: Take a sneak peek into Bill and Melinda Gates’s Washington mansion

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

Are there any planets outside of our solar system?