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

NEED A BREAK? VISIT THESE 22 WC NATURE RESERVES FOR FREE DURING TOURISM MONTH

 From next week, CapeNature will again provide free access to 22 of its nature reserves.

The Rocherpan Nature Reserve on the West Coast of the Western Cape. Picture: @CapeNature1/Twitter

CAPE TOWN - If you're looking for a day out, then why not explore some of the Western Cape's most beautiful landscapes, natural spaces and unique culture.

From next week, CapeNature will again provide free access to 22 of its nature reserves.

This is in celebration of Tourism Week and Heritage Month.

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Environmental Affairs spokesperson James Brent Styan explains: "It's giving the public a chance to visit some of our most beautiful areas for free. People can go for picnics, they can go hiking, they can go mountain biking or birdwatching or they can go to some of the most historical cultural sites in the Western Cape. We are delighted to offer this opportunity."

The 22 reserves that people can visit for free from 13 to 20 September are:

West Coast: Groot Winterhoek, Bird Island, Cederberg, Matjiesrivier, Rocherpan.

Winelands: Limietberg, Hottentots Holland, Assegaaibosch (picnic only).

Overberg: Kogelberg, Stony Point, De Mond, De Hoop, Marloth, Grootvadersbosch, Walker Bay.

Garden Route: Robberg, Keurbooms River, Goukamma, Geelkrans.

Karoo: Swartberg, Gamkaberg, Anysberg.

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