Scot's Swedish challenge

Published 28 Jul 2010 14:17

By Alistair Neil

A CATRINE ex-pat is calling on all Tartan Army foot soldiers to join him for a game of football in Sweden next month.

Former Catrine Primary and Auchinleck Academy pupil Scot James has organised the game with local outfit Långholmen FC for Scotland fans travelling over to Stockholm for the friendly on August 11.

Having moved to Sweden 12 years ago Scot became involved in the running of the club, which has undergone a remarkable rise in the last decade.

Originally founded as a Sunday league team Långholmen have progressed through the ranks over the last eight years and now play in the third tier of Swedish football.

And with 3500 Scotland supporters expected to descend on the Swedish capital for the midweek fixture, Scot, who is a Dj and runs an events company, will be doing his bit to welcome his countrymen.

He explained: "In association with the Tartan Army I'm organising a big party for fans on the Tuesday and would love to meet up with any fans from the Cumnock area who may be over for the trip.

"The game is going to be played on Djurgarden FC's training pitch in Stockholm. I have had a lot of correspondence with the Tartan Army and have spoken to their organisers on the phone regarding both the match and the party afterwards, which will be taking place in a pub called the Southside.

"We will be meeting up there before the match and travelling together to the stadium."

The Tartan Army's Sunshine Appeal will also be raising money for a local charity while in Stockholm.

Scot's involvement with the Långholmen team has grown to the extent that he now runs the supporters club, produces match programmes and writes match reports for the club's website and a local newspaper.

His role with the club mirrors that of his father Tom Shirkie, who is involved behind the scenes at Cumnock Juniors.

But Scot admits it was a freak incident that got him hooked.

He continued: "I got involved with the club basically because one of my best mates was the manager and he asked me to come along and watch.

"I wasn't really interested in Sunday league football but I gave it a chance. There were only a handful of people at the game and I was helping out by retrieving the ball from behind the goals when something bizarre happened.

"The shooting was so bad I decided to stand behind the opponent's goal instead of running from the sideline all the time. When Långholmen were awarded a free kick, I shouted to one of our players not to pass the ball as we had a player offside, the opposing goalkeeper complained and the referee showed me the red card.

"I tried to explain I was nothing to do with the coaching staff but he didn't believe me and I think became the first ball boy in the history of world football to be sent off.

"It was such a funny thing to happen that I wrote a quick match report and it all started from there."

Scot added: "We are made up of ex pats from Scotland , England and Ireland and have over 30 nationalities involved throughout the club.

"Långholmen FC have climbed up into the third division and if we continue as we have done we will be playing against the likes of IFK Gothenburg and Malmo in a few years."

Tweet

Follow @cumnockchron

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.