IMAGINE the scene. Scotland are playing in a World Cup qualifying match. They are away from home, sitting second in the table and needing three points. Victory would put them just under the group leaders, who they meet in the next game. We are 78 minutes into the match and Scotland are 2-0 down.
What happens next? The Scots score three goals in the last 11 minutes and the players are all heroes!
Have you heard this story? It’s not something made up for Roy of the Rovers, it actually did happen, just last week. However, you may not have heard about it as it was the women’s team who achieved this amazing result in Poland.
It wasn’t splashed over all the sports pages of the newspapers and they didn’t have long debates on the football radio phone-in shows.
Pundits didn’t get their quirky little graphics out to discuss tactics and if you wanted to see the game live, the only station to cover it was BBC Alba, who, thankfully, have been long supporters of the women’s game. It is about time we reversed this trend and celebrated the successes of our national teams equally, and it is about time we gave these athletes the recognition and reward they so deserve.
So how can we do this? First, put this date in your diary – Thursday, August 30, 2018. Secondly, get your family, friends and colleagues together and arrange to come out and support the team at the newly renamed Simple Digital Arena in Paisley.
This is a crucial match for Shelley Kerr’s team as their opponents, Switzerland, haven’t lost yet and are top of the table with 18 points. Scotland are just below, knocking on the door with 15. This game could change everything.
If everyone who has attended a women’s match in the past turned up on August 30 and brought a friend, we would show this amazing group of players how much we appreciate them.
Twenty-four teams will participate in next year’s finals in France in, eight from Europe. Italy, Spain and the hosts France have qualified and we want to be there, too. So let’s start planning this party now. Kick-off is at 7.35pm.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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