Next weekend TACC will be revisiting Spain and the Children at Emaus. Our visit will mark the opening of the football pitch that your kind donations have made possible.

TACC will present this plaque to the children of Emaus & our dear friends as a mark of friendship and to celebrate the opening of the football pitch that you built!

Thank you all so much.

Pennypit Stadium, Prestonpans

25th May 2012

7:30pm Kick Off

Admission: Adults £2    Children £1

Great game in store! C'mon the Pans Legends!!

When Ali Hunter and John Deans of the Tartan Army Children's Charity (TACC) came over las September to meet us and learn more about Emaus, we could never have imagined the extraordinary events that were about to unfold. After seeing the children's homes first hand and spending time with Montserrat Fitur, the President of Emaus, the TACC donated a whopping £15000 towards a sports programme for the children.

 
After viewing a piece of rough ground at the back of the Altea home, it was agreed that the money was to be spent on a sports field. This seemed to be an almost impossible task as the land has no access apart from a path in front of the home so all the work had to be done by hand.

This herculean task was undertaken by Mario and his team (with a little help from Tony & Montse, see photos) who manhandled literally hundreds of wheelbarrow loads of sand through a narrow path and onto the land at the same time as being harangued daily by the children “Is it finished yet?”. Slowly but surely the weeds disappeared under the steadily growing sand base. The goalposts were painted one end in Barcelona colours and the other in Madrid colours at the request of the children and seats were found for spectators. When the grass was eventually laid out the whole pitch seemed to take shape and the painting of the white lines finished it to perfection.

It's difficult to work out who gets the most benefit from projects like these, is it the children who get to play on a brand new pitch at their home, to the envy of their classmates, or could it be people like ourselves who are privileged to be part of these projects and are able to see them through from start to finish. One thing is for sure, all those who contributed to the TACC fundraising should feel especially proud of themselves to have achieved this wonderful legacy and to know that children engaged in sports rarely have time to think about their other problems.

View the gallery here.....

TACC are heading back to visit our friends at Association Emaus in Alicante in May to officially open the football pitch your fundraising built for them. 

We'd like to take each of the kids in the group home (Aged 3-16) a good quality football shirt to mark the occasion. (We hope to gather 30 shirts in total) If you would like to make this final gesture of friendship please send the shirt to:

Ally Hunter

40 Turpie Road

Leven

Fife

KY8 4FB 

All help & contacts would be hugely appreciated.

Own a piece of Scottish football history

Own one of only 300 pieces of Hampden Turf lifted September 1998.

Visit the aution here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251025924757

The turf is encased in a clear resin with a commemorative plate with the wording:

" A unique piece of Hampden turf lifted September 1998 - limited edition one of 300"

This item DOES NOT have a name or any other enscription.

Now you can own a piece of Scottish football history.

As part of their fundraising for TACC, the Bus Pass Tartan Army are holding a Charity Quiz Night on Tuesday 3^rd April

http://www.tartanarmychildrenscharity.org.uk/main/the-news/headline-news/310-charity-quiz-night.html

One of their members has donated this piece of history.

The winning bidder will receive:

-         Hampden Turf in Presentation Box

The item is an excellent condition, with no cracks, scratches or damage on the item. The cardboard presentation box has some light wear and tear around the edges and is a little faded - but overall in good condition.

100% of the funds raised will go to TACC our goal:

Trying to bring some happiness to disadvantaged children wherever Scotland play, home or away

Own a piece of Scottish football history

Estonia vs Scotland 9/10/1996 – Match Programme, Match Tickets and a Thank You letter from the Scottish FA for attending the match.

Visit the aution here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251025891305

It was a scene every Sunday morning player will be familiar; one team turns up, the other does not.

The difference in the Kadriorg Stadium, Tallin, was that it was a World Cup qualifying match, not a park kickabout, and Estonia had just refused to play the fixture,  leaving Scotland all dressed up with no one to play.

3 minutes to kick off - The Scotland team marched on, in full kit. With the Estonian half of the pitch empty, the Scots lined up in formation. Billy Dodds rolled the ball forward from the centre spot to John Collins, captaining his country for the first time. The referee immediately blew his whistle and led the Scotland team off.

Scotland's fans, who had made a 2,000-mile round trip for the games with Latvia and Estonia, took the abandonment in good humour. They sang: "There's only one team in Tallinn" as they left, the biggest cheer came when a kilted fan charged on with a ball and dribbled it into the goal.

Now you can own a piece of Scottish football history.

As part of their fundraising for TACC, the Bus Pass Tartan Army are holding a Charity Quiz Night on Tuesday 3^rd April

http://www.tartanarmychildrenscharity.org.uk/main/the-news/headline-news/310-charity-quiz-night.html

One of their members has donated this piece of history.

The winning bidder will receive:

-         Match Programme,

-         Match Ticket,

-         Thank You letter from the Scottish FA for attending the match.

The items are all in an excellent condition. The match programme has no folds/tears. The Ticket stubs are still connected(Just!). The letter has a corner missing due to a staple.

100% of the funds raised will go to TACC our goal:

Trying to bring some happiness to disadvantaged children wherever Scotland play, home or away 

The plan:

Led by Stuart Doyle (29), this mammoth expedition will involve running 300 miles in 10 days while dribbling a football.

Stuart and his team of 3 hardy adventurers will run 30 miles a day from John ‘O Groats to Hampden to raise funds and awareness for TACC

The motivation:

Stuart is an avid explorer who recently cycled 3000 miles from Greece to Scotland to raise money for St Columba’s hospice. He describes himself as honest, easy-going, immature, practical and tolerant and keen footballer who ply’s his trade Edinburgh Southern. Stu is a bone-fide Iron Man who pushes himself to the limit and he and his team are absolutely committed to raising as much awareness and funds for TACC as they can.  

How can you help?

Donate via their fundraising page - www.justgiving.com/jog4hampden

Follow them on Facebook - www.facebook.com/Jog4Hampden

Visit their website - jog4hampden.wordpress.com