A group of Scotland supporters have handed over a £4,000 donation to a charity in Ireland helping to teach kids about social integration through sport.
The Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal made the donation to Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) on Saturday.
It comes ahead of Scotland’s UEFA Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
The charity provides football training for kids between the ages of eight and 13-years-old.
It also marks the 90th consecutive donation made on a Scotland away trip.
The money will contribute towards the charity setting up a safe environment for children to play football.
And whilst supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds to be involved with sport, the charity also teaches them about about discrimination.
Neil Forbes, chairman of the Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal, said that racism is a “blight on society” all over the world, as he praised the work of the charity.
“The work they do here in an underprivileged area, getting these kids together with migrants into the city as well, I think it’s just a fabulous charity,” he said.
“And it’s great to see that developed through sport more than anything.”
Diane Doig, committee member at the Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal, expressed her joy at the excitement shown by the children taking part.
“It would break your heart sometimes really,” she told STV News.
“One wee boy is coming up to the stadium this afternoon and coming on the pitch and he was just bursting with excitement.”
Ken Powell, from SARI, said that the kids involved “absolutely love it”.
He said: “It’s one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged areas probably in the whole country.
“And we have a special programme here where we run kids training and little competitons.
“They come along every week, it’s been running about four months and I think more than 40 kids have already taken part.
“And they’re aged between eight and 13 and they absolutely love it.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
