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Politics Civil conflict: What is happening in Tigray?
Jess Jones
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Abiy Ahmed was elected Prime Minister of Ethiopia in 2019, during the chaos of mass protests against the coalition government, headed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). After years of what was largely seen as an autocratic rule, characterised by the severe oppression of political dissidents, Ahmed sought to reunify Ethiopia under his new Prosperity Party. His peace efforts with neighbouring country Eritrea won him a Nobel Prize in 2019. It is from this background that the current Ethiopian civil conflict has stemmed.
Ethiopia is an ethnically diverse country divided into 10 regions. The Tigrayan region has felt marginalised since Ahmed rose to power and deposed many TPLF elites from high positions in the government, even persecuting some on the grounds of corruption. Unfortunately for Africa’s youngest Prime Minister, this only earned him enemies and even an attempted assassination in 2018.
Although Ahmed pledged democratic reform upon his election, some Ethiopians feel that
Jack Graham
November has been a month of immense political disorder in Peru; the nation has witnessed three presidents pass through the seat of power within a single week whilst protesters have taken to the streets of the capital in anger.
Thousands of furious citizens have crowded the streets of Peru and have stormed social media outlets, all under the communal banner of #TheyMessedWithTheWrongGeneration. power within a single week
In the face of an apparent constitutional crisis, the younger generation has sought to make their voices heard, pleading against the long trail of corruption that has tainted the highest offices within the Peruvian government for decades.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index has claimed Peru to be the 101st most corrupt nation in the world, whilst their southerly neighbours of Chile place 23rd.
Lima, the capital of Peru, continued to echo with calls for the he has not fulfilled his promises. He postponed the elections in March this year citing the pandemic as the primary concern, which has led to accusations that he is making a grab for power.
Ahmed took to Twitter to urge peaceful surrender
As a result, the TPLF refused to acknowledge Ahmed as the legitimate leader of the country and held their own election illegally in September. In a stalemate situation, Ahmed also refused to recognise the results of the TPLF vote.
The TPLF’s constant efforts at undermining Ahmed’s government throughout its rule has now escalated into direct violence, with the party attacking two military bases in Tigray on 4th November. Ahmed’s government retaliated by sending in army forces. Civilians who could not flee in time were caught in a lethal crossfire.
(Statsministerens Kontor via Creative Commons) first replacement for the former president, Martin Vizcarra. Vizcarra was removed from office following an impeachment upon grounds of "moral incapacity", accusers have claimed that he interfered with corruption investigations and accepted numerous bribes from companies concerning public work contracts – all of which he has repeatedly denied. His removal from office is being described as a coup d’etat by many, once more news outlets have been engrained with imagery of brutish clashes between protesters and police units clad in riot gear, armed with tear gas canisters and wielding rifles releasing barrages of rubber bullets into large crowds. The crowds awoke the city of Lima with the unceasing chant “Merino, listen up, the people reject you!” – a message that eventually got through to Merino, he resigned following the rising public opposition against him and the unfortunate killing of two protestors, Jack Pintado, 22, and Inti Sotelo, 24. According to The Guardian, analysts have confirmed that Vizcarra’s removal from office was coordinated by his political enemies, opposers of his anti-graft reforms which sought to eradicate political corruption from the highest levels
There have been reports of atrocities on both sides and even a massacre where hundreds were hacked to death. It is hard to know precise numbers or get footage of what is happening because the Ethiopian government has cut off all communications with Tigray, including roads, airports, phone networks and the internet. On Sunday evening, Abiy Ahmed took to Twitter to urge the TPLF to “surrender peacefully within 72 hours”. It followed a statement from Ethiopian military of the Peruvian government. heard against corruption
Vizcarra was one of the most popular Presidents of his generation, despite the Covid-19 outbreak. His approval rating had floated above 50%, causing political demonstrators to claim that Congress has deviated from the democratic norms and have acted against the will of the people.
Since Merino’s resignation, however, yet another President has taken up the mantle of authority. Francisco Sagasti assumed office on 17th November and faces an immensely difficult challenge.
The people of Peru now look to Sagasti to repair the damages caused by the ongoing turmoil, to act upon the furies of his protesters and to tend to the wounds inflicted upon Peruvian reputation. Sagasti said his inauguration was “not a day of celebration”, stating “we can take action from Congress, from the executive, so that this does not happen again.”
Vizcarra has publicly shown support for Sagasti, tweeting “I congratulate Francisco Sagasti on his election as President of Parliament. Only a person with democratic principles will be able to spokesman Colonel Dejene Tsegaye, who declared army plans to surround Mekelle with tanks. He said, “We want to send a message to the public in Mekelle to save yourselves from any artillery attacks and free yourselves from the junta […] After that, there will be no mercy.”
This puts the approximately 500,000 people who live in Tigray’s capital Mekelle at a very high risk and human rights activists are concerned about the legality of the threat. Leader of the TPLF, Debretsion Gebremichael, responded that his people were “ready to die” defending their right to administer their region.
What does this mean for civilians? There has been a mass exodus of at least 40,000 people as yet, with the UN refugee agency predicting up to 200,000 if fighting continues. There is some concern that the war will continue to spread, perhaps even into Eritrea, and destabilise east Africa. Refugees have travelled across the border into Sudan where camps are overcrowded and unprepared to deal with the excess of civilian displacement. There is relative safety but access to shelter, clean water, food and health care is compromised. face the difficult situation that the country is going through”. Sagasti has shown himself to be a promising President, one who will act upon the requests of the majority and seek to put an end to the overwhelming corruption that darkens Peruvian democracy.
The new President has already reacted to the overwhelming levels of police violence that occurred in recent weeks, retiring three lieutenant-generals and fifteen generals of the National Police whilst ordering further lengths of reform. This comes in response to the deaths of the two aforementioned students, Jack Pintado and Inti Sotelo, who both
Sudanese authorities have expressed the need for more camps to be established and easy humanitarian access to them provided. Sudan is already struggling with its own economic problems, so it needs the international community to pull together and help. Thus far, Ethiopia has ignored American pleas for a ceasefire and peace talks. On Wednesday, Ahmed rejected attempts at international intervention from the African Union and the UN. It is going to be difficult for the civilians to be saved. Abiy Ahmed has promised the army would not be targeting Tigrayans.
Nonetheless, it is not hard to imagine a scenario where innocent people are killed or injured. International powers need to place intense and consistent pressure on Ahmed and the TPLF to stop escalating the war further and they need to provide essential humanitarian aid in this time of
Presidential turmoil follows Peru elections
removal of Manuel Merino, the
crisis for Ethiopia. lost their lives at the use of firearm projectiles.
Time will only tell whether Sagasti will step up to the plate and do his nation justice, whether he will bring a cease to the overwhelming levels of corruption within his nation or if he will merely pass office without significant effect. He will remain in office for what was the rest of Vizcarra’s term, meaning that he only has until 28th July 2021 to refashion his government. (Protestors Blur via Creative Commons)
Politics Terror attacks leave secular France at crossroads
Matthew Lambert
A series of terror attacks which have plagued France over recent months have been met with strong resistance from Emmanuel Macron, the French President. As a consequence of the attacks, which have included the beheading of school teacher Samuel Paty, the national debate surrounding French secularism has been reignited.
Since 25th September, where there was a stabbing outside of the former headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, the location of a previous attack in 2015, there have been a further three attacks. The first was the beheading of Samuel Paty, which has become the symbol of the current feud over secularism. Paty, having shown a naked image of the Prophet Muhammad (which is expressly forbidden in Islam), was attacked by 18-year-old Russian-born Abdoullakh Anzorov. It is alleged by prosecutors that Anzorov paid two children €300 to identify the teacher, with whom he then spent two hours before killing Paty.
Macron has responded by taking up a strong line against those he describes as supporting “Islamist separatism”. This was notable in the rhetoric he used in the national commemoration to Samuel Paty, where he
Kirsty George
The announcement that England would enter a second period of lockdown came on 31st October, as Boris Johnson declared the move necessary to avoid the "medical and moral disaster" of the NHS being overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.
Highlighting the rapid spread of the virus, he outlined the potential consequences of not implementing preventative measures: a "peak of mortality" higher than that seen in April, and frontline workers "forced to choose which patients to treat, who would get oxygen and who wouldn’t, who would live and who would die".
The four-week lockdown ended on 2nd December, which raised questions about the motivations behind this timing. On the first day of the new lockdown, Johnson said he had been advised that four weeks would be sufficient for the new restrictions to make "a real imdirectly linked “political, radical Islamism,” to the killing and contrasted French, republican values to Islamic principles.
Though Macron has subsequently dropped a large part of this rhetoric, partially in response to the worldwide boycott of French goods by Muslim-majority nations, his initial offensive is one which is widely supported throughout France, with 79% of people in a Ifop-Fiducial poll agreeing that they believed Islamism “has declared war on France and the Republic".
Hard-line language from the French government has been accompanied by controversial plans for new laws. Already roughly 50 organisations have been shortlisted for dissolution, including controversially the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF). CCIF is currently the largest anti-Islamophobic organisation in France, and the move has been criticised by Amnesty International, who described it as “shocking”.
This has been accompanied by attempts by the Macron government to reduce homepact" on the spread of the virus, but infection rates were not the only factor influencing government decisions.
In his original statement, Johnson made clear that the lockdown was in part looking forward to the Christmas period: "If we follow this package of measures in the way that we can and we have done before, I have no doubt people will be able to have as normal a Christmas as posschooling, which has been perceived to be a method for radical Muslims to take their children out of the school system in order to not be taught French, republican values. This will be introduced in a bill to the French parliament on 9th December.
The government’s response returns the debate on laïcité, loosely translated to state secularism, and the extent to which the government should intervene to maintain religious neutrality, back into the spotlight. Secularism is an integral part of the French national psyche and is largely not up for debate as a national policy which has been part of law since 1905. The law is understood to be the main backbone of French secularism and holds tremendous symbolic significance, simultaneously enshrining the right to religious exercise, whilst also limiting the role of religions within the public sphere.
However, recently there has been a greater level of scrutiny placed on the law, with many suggesting that it discriminates against Islam. Whilst the Catholic Church, the largest religion in France, remains somewhat protected due to its long-lasting prevalence in the country, the law has been increasingly used as justification to clamp down on Islamic symbols such as the ban sible and that we will be able to get things open before Christmas as well". lockdown was in part looking forward to Christmas
While having "as normal a Christmas as possible" is crucial for bringing together longseparated friends and family and allowing businesses to take advantage of Christmas trade, the government’s focus on this holiday may appear inappropriate in light of its treatment of other religious celebrations.
Covid-19 restrictions have paid no heed to Ramadan, Eid, or Diwali, forcing millions of Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh families to pass these holidays isolated from their communities and loved ones. Anger was sparked in particular when the health secretary Matt Hancock of face coverings in public spaces in 2010.
Whilst supporters of such measures claim that this is necessary to protect secularist society, others point to how Christian holidays and symbols still have significant influence within French society and suggest that laïcité has been used to justify state-sanctioned Islamophobia.
This debate has affected all parts of French society. Children have found themselves increasingly involved in the series of events. On top of the two children who are suspected to have accepted money from Anzorov, four school children from Albertville, a French town in the southeast, were interrogated by the police on charge of supporting terrorism in a classroom debate. In announced late in the evening on 30th July that from midnight families were not permitted to mix at home or in gardens. Coming just three hours before Eid al-Adha, the announcement devastated the celebrations of countless families, with Johnson being dubbed "The Grinch who stole Eid" on social media.
While Hancock denied that the move was intended to prevent Eid celebrations, for many it reinforced the view that ethnic minority groups are suffering disproportionately in this crisis; death rates from the virus have been highest among black and Asian people, with a Public Health England report revealing that racism and inequality may have amplified this disproportionality.
Defending the government’s special treatment of Christmas, Hancock said that while he was "sensitive" to the problem, Christmas should be treated differently because it is "a national holiday and it's the biggest national holiday we have". The government’s current plans for Christmas will allow people to form three-household bubbles between 23rd and 27th December. While Hancock’s defence is unlikely to satisfy many total, fourteen children have been investigated by French police regarding inappropriate comments during the national commemoration of Paty. This demonstrates, in part, the resolve of Macron in his hard secularist response. Children are not exempted from the French government’s pursuit to enforce what it views as religious neutrality.
With far right Marine Le Pen polling highly as we approach the 2022 presidential elections, some might sceptically say that Macron is appealing to the right in France with a strong response to Islamist terrorism. However, with 87% of French people believing secularism in France is under threat, it is clear that the clash between laïcité and Islam in France seems set to continue.
Eased lockdown restrictions cause controversy
(UK Prime Minister via Creative Commons)
(Image: Sophie Farmer) of those from different faiths, easing lockdown restrictions over Christmas is also problematic in that it will necessitate harsher restrictions following the festive period: Public Health England highlighted that "for every one day of relaxation, five days of tighter restrictions would potentially be needed".
The heavy cost the country will have to pay for a relaxation of restrictions indicates that the risk of transmission remains high, despite current lockdown measures. Indeed, Johnson’s announcement that a "tougher" tier system would be introduced from 2nd December emphasises that the four-week lockdown alone cannot ensure public safety.
Nevertheless, as sacrifices continue to be made, many will look forward to the brief period of freedom over Christmas. The anticipation of a vaccine will likely sustain hope that more such freedoms and reunions between friends and family will soon be possible.
SportSport
Experts or ex-pros: time for a change in football punditry?
Matt Styles Sport Editor
For the past 14 years, the Oxford Dictionary have released their word of the year. In 2016, the year of Brexit and Trump, came “post-truth”, defined by the OED as “circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping debate or public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”. It diagnosed a sick age where empty visceral appeals have more impact than a serious investigation into the essential truth of a subject. Football punditry has been displaying these symptoms for years.
The flashy studios of Sky and BT are arenas where cutting-edge insight and intelligent, objective approaches to understanding the game largely take a backseat. Instead, the popularity of pundits such as Roy Keane exemplify how they are instead sensationalist hotbeds of provocation, characters, contrived narratives, feigned outrage and engineered polarities of opinion. And when it isn’t so highly-charged, viewers can almost invariably expect inane conversation, essentially glorified pub talk from a cast of ex-pros who rehash the same old tired clichés as they struggle for articulation and fail to unlock a deeper level of truth.
There are of course some anomalies, the likes of Liam Rosenior are considered a rare breed for their measured delivery and eloquence, but the prevailing consensus is that former players who were experts at playing the game are not automatically experts at analysing it. The vast majority rest on their laurels while others, despite their best efforts, scarcely captivate the audience or bedazzle with agile knowledge of the game at large.
While there is certainly value in hearing the experiences from those who have played the game first-hand, many believe that the balance should be redressed; that the analysis should be reserved for external and objective voices who have devoted their lives to observing the game – the statisticians, the authors, the journalists – who are overflowing with specialist and inexhaustible knowledge on certain subjects.
These experts would
As football enters a more analytical era, the role of a pundit has come under scrutiny ([Ross] via Creative Commons) undoubtedly be better equipped just happened. where the post-match analysis is at stimulating the mind: However, is the role of drowned out anyway. offering originality and clarity television not one of visual History shows that we only of expression, thriving in debate stimulation and entertainment remember and value the visually as a result of their eclectic – an embracement of the false, striking and the comic – Henry interest in global leagues, the a product designed to entertain putting his hand on Jamie cultural and political forces that rather than elicit intellectual Carragher’s thigh, Kamara’s influence events, drawing on ponderings? Where Brecht’s epic “dunno Jeff” or Jamie Redknapp history as a way of understanding theatre was designed to elicit a highlighting a corner flag. So the present, and in some cases ‘think not feel’ response, isn’t the ultimately, while a panel full of knowing these ex-pros better act of watching football the exact Jonathan Wilson’s would be a feast than they know themselves. Such reverse: an escape, an illusion, for the mind, such discussions voices, however, seem exclusively a conscious effort to resist the can’t be turned into hilarious reserved for podcast or radio – inconvenient truths of real life? GIFs, or provide opportunities not fit for the screen, not good Football is a visceral for clickbait or fierce debates on enough personalities, not visually experience. We enjoy being social media. appetising, not ‘entertaining’ enraptured by the shiny lights of enough. Gary Neville and Jamie the studio, the funky touchscreen tactical boards, the dramatic In football punditry, Carragher have helped to music, and seeing our idols from nowdays truth is of little advance tactical explorations and give football punditry a more yesteryear appear on our screens, no matter how vacuous they may import serious and thoughtful face, be. They are trained in being but realistically the majority of characters, and their theatrical Indeed, why would their observations are intuitive; impulses, their performances, broadcasting companies strive for elementary in comparison to the raise football to a suitable level truth when they can perpetually stuff we might find on podcasts of urgency and seriousness; we reinforce engagement by inviting such as Tifo, or in publications can unwind and not thinking moral outrage, raising topics such like The Blizzard. too deeply but instead switch off as who should be England’s third
For all our complaints and and unconsciously buy into this choice goalkeeper to a matter of yearnings for a more fair colourful universe. life and death? Clearly truth is landscape, however, is this Fans come for the match and of little import. It has got to the sort of thing really desirable pay no real attention to the point where our anticipation of on our screens? Is this what analysis – granted, because we inane conversation and blunders the average football fan truly have become accustomed to overrides our investment in what wants from a football pundit: vapid discussions, and haven’t is actually being said. cool, logical, reasoned, rational? fully experienced an alternative And do we really want an This sort of “more profound, – but fundamentally because expert with an accent of authority less energetic” analysis is not it’s not really what we came to when we can scoff at empty fit for screen, because logically see. When watching a game on comments made by these exit doesn’t correspond with the the tele we don’t come for the pros, poking fun as they fumble frenzied drama that we demand punditry, but the heart-racing over their points and resort to from watching football. Thus the moments, the on-field action, cliché? The longevity of Paul drama continues in the studio in drawing our own conclusions Merson and Steve McManaman the form of lively verbal jousting, and sharing instinctive responses would indicate that there is rather than a defusing the pace in the group chat, or with others value in incompetence, as they and calmly digesting what has in pubs and communal spaces serve the function of provoking frustration and engagement from fans. I don’t believe we want substance; perversely, we enjoy the meretricious emptiness of it all.
But is this a bad thing? Do we need a culture shift? Can there be a single truth in something so partisan and divisive as football anyway? Why strive for it? Is this aversion to intellectual stimulation an indictment on us fans, that we would sooner embrace the post-truth unapologetically than make football a more intellectually demanding arena? I don’t believe so.
Football is inherently ridiculous, it is that opportunity to unleash the frustrations that build up throughout the week, get impassioned over things that by and large have no real consequence; the arena where you are justified to be irrational. This is different, of course, when shining a light on social injustices such as racism, sexism and corruption, but these tend to be done well and taken seriously in its own time, and in fact expros act as authoritative voices on these issues; more conducive to change given that they are idolised by the masses.
But otherwise, when the politics is removed, football is essentially theatre, and companies exploit that through the many technological possibilities of television. Fans enjoy the illusion of football and it needs the theatricality, the controversy and the ideological divisions to sustain its illusions – or else it would run dry. This isn’t to say football shouldn’t be intellectualised at all, but punditry isn’t the appropriate arena for that. Such discussions are better reserved in retrospect for genuinely thoughtful modes like podcasts, books or newspaper columns – more solipsistic, personal experiences as opposed to the demands of entertainment when watching with your mates.
Though football punditry has its pitfalls – notionally it isn’t fair that ex-pros are automatically favoured over the experts – they don’t necessarily warrant an upheaval. Even if not the most articulate, fans ultimately enjoy seeing their footballing idols, who relay their charming anecdotes to satisfy our voyeuristic instincts, provoke debate through their bumbling incompetence and, ultimately, reinforce a sense of tangibility in our often disorientating footballing universe. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sport The FA Cup odyssey of DU’s Dudzinski
Luke Power and Matt Styles
Sport Editors
Since the middle of last century, Oxford City have played in the shadows of their more successful neighbours, Oxford United. Previously shouldering their way around the English footballing pyramid from the comforts of the same suburb, the disparity between the clubs was scratched onto our maps by United’s relocation to the swankier Kassam Stadium in 2001.
But as fans of the cliché would have us know, there is a certain magic to the FA Cup. Few other domestic cup competitions are as carnivalesque or inclusive of so many clubs, with pot-bellied Davids testing their skills against Premier League Goliaths. And for this FA Cup season at least, the Oxford hierarchy has been flipped, with non-league City putting together a brilliant run and outshining their rivals.
At the heart of this story is Durham old boy Ben Dudzinski. Signing this summer on the back of a National League campaign with Sutton United, Dudzinski arrived to high expectations but has thus far kept his cool and delivered.
Oxford City created something memorable in the FA Cup this season, beating four different opponents including League One side Northampton Town on the road to their Second Round showdown against Shrewsbury Town.
Unfortunately, Sunday’s clash with Shrewsbury signalled the
Continued from back page
In the Hundred’s absence England still managed to take on West Indies in a T20 series, and there was the domestic 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, which as Mark pointed out “generated…more column inches than expected. Live online streaming helped with the fan engagement, as did BBC radio commentary on some games”.
Meanwhile Sky showed the final. Despite England’s 5–0 rout of the West Indies, and the Heyhoe-Flint Trophy’s success, end of Oxford’s FA Cup run as they fell to a 1-0 loss in extra time, at the hands of a well-hit strike from former Bournemouth man Marc Pugh.
However, the club deserve their fair share of pats on the back for getting so far: of the 160 clubs in the Second Qualifying Round where Oxford began, only six others made it as far in the competition as they did.
“It definitely reminds us what we’re capable of and the standards we should be setting ourselves in each game,” Dudzinski told Palatinate. “We’ve loved the cup run but right now it’s hard to shake off the feeling that these did little more than fill a gap. While they might have helped to sustain interest, they won’t have had the exponential growth in terms of fan engagement that the ECB hopes the Hundred will have. The path ahead remains somewhat uncertain. somewhat uncertain.
This is not only the case in England, but worldwide too. The Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) finished with a Sydney Thunder triumph on Saturday, and it displayed some significant spectacle and talent. This came not least from the likes of Heather Knight and Sarah Glenn from the English contingent. The WBBL provides strength in depth for the Australian national team – as Mark pointed out – whilst also allowing overseas players to participate in high class and competitive cricket against the world’s best.
But what about the countries that those players come from? Outside of England and Australia, the picture is a little more worrying. “The worry in a postCovid world means that cashstrapped national boards are most likely to organise bio-secure bubbles for their most financially viable cricket - and that means men’s internationals and T20 leagues, with women’s cricket sometimes an afterthought, as the lack of international fixtures since March shows,” said Mark. wait
Ben Dudzinski in action for Oxford City FC (Ben Dudzinski) we’re incredibly disappointed. “I think with Covid and Our run highlights the fine lines everything that has been going between the leagues and for me on with football, the magic of the and many of the boys it provides FA Cup has definitely come alive. motivation and inspiration to If anyone needed reminding strive to move up the leagues.” this year has done it and we’re
A three-tier gap separates only ‘two rounds’ in. Everyone’s League One Shrewsbury from missing the fans and the FA Cup the National League South outfit, is a competition for the fans, so but for periods of the game you it’s plain to see the beauty of the wouldn’t have been able to tell FA Cup.” and Oxford acquitted themselves Dudzinski’s story is one which well. As Dudzinski stresses, it’s will bring great hope to any a reminder of the tantalising aspiring footballers at Durham. proximity between the Football At the end of his final year at League and the divisions below Durham, the goalkeeper signed – a shimmering curtain which is a professional contract with exposed in the FA Cup. then-League Two side Hartlepool United, and has been at numerous clubs since then.
During that time, he has fleshed out his CV with spells at various upper-level non-league teams, and is looking to get back into the professional game. Looking back on his University career, the St Aidan’s alumnus recalled some incredible footballing memories throughout the years.
“I have many brilliant sporting memories from Durham,” reflects Dudzinski. “We were an extremely good football side with great coaches, players and fantastic team spirit. I look back fondly on those years.”
Dudzinksi’s story is one which will bring great hope to any aspiring footballers at Durham
He also played for DU alongside his college adventures, and is known as a rare breed for transitioning from university level to professional environments. Unlike rugby, where you don’t necessarily need glistening credentials before arriving at university, football tends to require pre-existing pedigree.
“It’s a tough one. The pathway is certainly there with the setup, standard and coaching. It helps if you’ve got some good credentials prior to arriving but it’s not the be all and end all.
“If you apply yourself and use the opportunities provided by the DU coaches to experience some semi-pro football whilst studying and playing for DU you’ll build yourself a good base for when moving on from uni. Exposure to men’s football is important I think and DU football can provide a great environment to move into
The path ahead remains
their male counterparts were travelling to the IPL. India and New Zealand have seen their opportunities limited since the pandemic started. As Mark told me, many of these problems stem from a lack of funding, which could potentially only get worse as time goes on.
The global women’s game outside of England and Australia faces a nervous wait. There is plenty of cause for optimism, as the WBBL and the upcoming Women’s Hundred demonstrate, but there are reservations too. Only time will reveal the exact implications of the pandemic on the women’s game.
20 Sport
Experts or ex-pros: football’s punditry problem Matt Styles questions the current state of football punditry (page 18)
Ben Dudzinski on his FA Cup run with Oxford City
Sport chats to the Durham alumnus after his side’s second round tie (page 19)
Durham men’s 1s lost only three games as they became the 2019/20 BUCS Super Rugby champions (DURFC)
Durham sport in 2020: a year in review
Ben Fleming and James Reid
Deputy Sport Editors
As the year draws to a close, there is a somewhat sombre feel to the Durham sporting scene. With all matches halted following the arrival of a second national lockdown and college sport limited to but a few, fleeting training sessions since March, there has been little to cheer about.
However, despite all of this, there were still plenty of sporting achievements for Durham sport throughout the course of the calendar year, and, in spite of the difficult circumstances, they deserve to be given the necessary recognition and celebrated to the fullest extent.
At the start of 2020, when the sporting calendar was still full to the brim, one of the first successes for Durham came on the rugby pitch as the University men’s first XV were crowned BUCS Super Rugby champions with a hard fought victory against Leeds Beckett. Losing only three games all season, and with starting flanker Fitz Harding now signed professionally to Premiership outfit Bristol Bears, it was undoubtedly a successful campaign for DURFC.
Premiership glory was prevalent elsewhere and most notably, throughout the Durham women’s lacrosse setup. The club, as a whole, won four leagues and one cup in the slightly curtailed season – another impressive return for the whole club, who also have nine players competing for international places over the course of the year.
Just a quick walk from the lacrosse pitches takes you to the hallowed AstroTurfs, the site of many successful seasons for the University hockey club who were named Team Durham’s club of the year for the 2019/20 season. The women’s 1s enjoyed an unbeaten league season, coming second in the national BUCS league and reaching the cup final prior to its cancellation. The men matched this achievement by coming first in their national BUCS league whilst also securing promotion to the England Hockey Premier League by winning their weekend league.
On a more individual note, special mention must also go to George Bourne, Team Durham’s sportsman of the year, whose year was topped off with a gold medal in the men’s quadruple sculls at the U23 World Rowing Championships.
However, as the new season rolled around, Covid-19 was still wreaking havoc on sport in Durham. While some sports were given the go-ahead to start training, yet others remained on the side-lines.
DURFC’s men’s 1s began their inaugural season in the Premier League. It has been a tough start, losing all of their first four games, but this takes nothing away from the very achievement that is Durham’s presence in the league. There is surely more to come.
Elsewhere, despite being unable to take to the pitch, DURFC have had further success with third-year Josh Basham making his debut for Newcastle Falcons in November.
Off the pitch too, DURFC, alongside a host of other clubs, have been busy raising money for charity. They topped the fundraising table, with Josephine Butler Football Club and Hatfield Rugby Club close behind amongst many others.
There was sadness too, as rugby in Durham lost a legend with the passing of Fergus King MBE.
Even where sport has returned, it has been very different. Contact is limited, balls and cones have to be sanitised, and social distancing is in place where possible. Yet the fact that it is back at all is surely hope for a more sport-filled Epiphany Term.
While college sport had hardly got its boots back on before being sidelined again due to the second lockdown, plans are now in place for a swift return should conditions allow.
Whenever sport does return in 2021, it will surely do so with a greater appreciation than ever before. So many of us have missed sport in Durham at all levels. Whether that be representing a University first team or a college E team, sport is central to the experience of so many students here in Durhm and has been sorely missed.
Its return cannot come soon enough.
The impact of Covid-19 on women’s cricket
Ned Vessey
A great deal has been written about the impact of the pandemic on cricket both in England and elsewhere. Men’s cricket, globally, seems to be slowly recovering – currently Australia and India are battling out in front of 20,000 socially-distanced fans, and Mumbai Indians have recently been crowned IPL champions for the fifth time.
But what about the women’s game? What effects has this pandemic, which has changed so many aspects of our lives, had on a sport which was enjoying rapid growth amongst girls in England, and which back in March had 86,000 people watch the T20 World Cup final?
There is plenty of cause for optimism, but most of this optimism is in England and Australia, and there is perhaps a danger that the pandemic will have widened the existing gap between these two nations and other international sides.
Palatinate spoke to Mark Mitchener, who has covered women’s cricket for the BBC Sport website for over a decade and knows the game inside out.
He spoke about the Women’s Hundred, a competition which was meant to mark a new era for the English domestic game but has been postponed until 2021. Could this mean a year of lost opportunity? Interest in and exposure of women’s cricket has been swiftly picking up momentum before, and even more so since, England’s 2017 World Cup win. What are the potential effects of not having the Hundred this year?
Mitchener says it may be a waiting game, and that “in terms of fan engagement, we may not know the full impact until next summer” when the Hundred has actually been played.
