Support for Pension Dignity at the University of Dundee

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Call for Scotland to Play in Dundee

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Action from the Scotland v Hungary under-21 match at Tannadice in March
I've written to the Scottish Football Association calling on them to give serious consideration to staging a Full International Match in Dundee.  I've been calling on the SFA to do this for some time and I was very pleased when Scotland played a friendly under-21 match at Tannadice back in March.  It has been widely reported that the SFA are considering moving matches away from Hampden Park after 2020.

 

I was astounded when I found out that Scotland had not played an full international match in Dundee since 1936.  In recent years Scotland have played matches in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and even in Kilmarnock.  They have also played at Ibrox Stadium and Celtic Park.  I think that it is right that the national team does play in places other than Glasgow from time to time.  On reflection, despite it not being ideal I do think that Hampden is the home of Scottish football and that bigger matches should be played there.  However, it is clear that it is not always practical to play at Hampden and therefore I think that serious consideration should be given to playing in Dundee.  As part of the review which the SFA is undertaking at the moment they should set out criteria for those matches which will be played away from Hampden.

 

I think that Dundee should certainly be included in any list of venues for possible international matches.  The recent under-21 match in Dundee against Hungary proved that there is an appetite for Scotland matches locally.  Indeed the problems at that match were due to the fact that it was more popular than the SFA expected.  There have only been 4 full Scotland internationals played in Dundee and the last one of those was in 1936.  If the SFA is looking at changing where they play international matches then surely it is time for Dundee to get a chance.

 

Playing an international match in Dundee would be good for football fans as they would get the chance to see the best players playing locally.  It would also be good for Dundee because it would bring visitors to the city and international attention to the city which would be good for the city's economy.  I hope that the SFA listen positively to my suggestion.