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

SA COULD END UP LIKE ZIM, WARNS PARLY, IF LAND SAGA ISN’T RESOLVED

 The warning came from Mathole Motshekga, who chairs Parliament’s ad hoc committee tasked with amending section 25 to make land expropriation without compensation explicit.

The Parliament of South Africa. Picture: EWN

CAPE TOWN - Parliament on Friday warned that not finding a solution to the land question could lead South Africa to a Zimbabwe-like situation.

The warning came from Mathole Motshekga, who chairs Parliament’s ad hoc committee tasked with amending section 25 to make land expropriation without compensation explicit.

The committee met on Friday to continue deliberations on the contentious amendment.

Parties have so far not been able to agree on the Amendment Bill where it refers to no compensation, state custodianship of land and the actual need to amend the Constitution itself.

Committee Chairperson Motshekga called for the conclusion of the process and warned that South Africa could become like Zimbabwe.

“If we fail to do so it means that we are opting for a Zimbabwe solution, and it will be a sad day if what happened in Zimbabwe comes to South Africa.”

Economic Freedom Fighters MP Floyd Shivambu said his party disagreed with anything that talks about compensation.

“We fundamentally disagree with the ANC’s revised position so anything that will say subject to compensation we are never going to agree to that.”

The parties have agreed to submit revised versions of their submissions and to continue discussions at the next meeting.

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