Ticket offer for kids clubs

Sep 30 2011 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

YOUNG footballers will be given the chance to cheer on Scotland’s next generation of Braveheart heroes for just £1.20 a head.

The Scotland Under-21s will play their Norwegian counterparts in a crucial European Championship qualifier at St Mirren Park on Monday, October 10.

And Saints bosses have struck an agreement with the Scottish Football Association to offer a block ticket deal to kids teams throughout Renfrewshire.

St Mirren general manager Brian Caldwell has been handed 1,000 tickets for the game and these will be split up into batches of 25 – consisting of 20 children’s briefs and five adult tickets – which will be offered to boys clubs in the Paisley, Johnstone and District Youth League for just £30.

Application forms are being sent out to clubs by St Mirren’s ticket office and Caldwell hopes to see an army of youngsters marching on Greenhill Road to support Billy Stark’s Under-21s on October 10.

He said: “We’re hoping this ticket offer is a successful way to entice plenty of kids along to the game with Norway.

“We had a meeting with the SFA last week and I suggested that this would be a good way to get the younger generation involved and the SFA agreed.

“We have tried this before with an Under-18s game we hosted here previously and it worked well then, so we’re hoping it will prove just as successful this time.

“It gives local teams the chance to take their youngsters out to the game for just £30. It works out at £1.20 a head. Where else will you get to see an international game for that price?

“All the kids from each team will be sitting in the same section beside their pals and, hopefully, that will make for a great atmosphere, which will help to spur on the Scotland team.”

Meanwhile, St Mirren season ticket holders can take advantage of discounted prices for the Scotland game by activating their smartcards online at smfctickets.co.uk or at the club’s ticket office before 5pm on the day of the match.

They will be asked to pay £4 for adults and £1 for concessions, while fans who pay at the gate on October 10 will be charged £5 for adults and £2 for concessions.