Sport – Page 59 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

AARG! Roller girls head south for opening encounter

While it seems like half of Wales has moved up here for the rugby this weekend, a city team is heading the other way …

The Auld Reekie Roller Girls, Edinburgh’s Roller Derby team, are on their way to Wales this weekend to compete in the first leg of the UK’s first ever progression and relegation based roller derby tournament.

The tournament includes teams from Scotland, England and Wales, and Auld Reekie are delighted to have been invited into the six-team Premier Division. The team take on the first of their rivals, Middlesbrough, in Newport this weekend.

Captains Skinn’er Alive and Lilo and Stitches said: ‘We are so excited to be playing this tournament. The teams involved are playing the highest level roller derby in the UK and we are thrilled to be part of it. All six teams in the premier division are amazing, so it’ll be really exciting to see the games play out’.

This season sees a few new faces on the ARRG All Stars, and the team is looking stronger than ever. The Middlesbrough team are not to be taken lightly, however, currently ranking fifth in the UKRDA rankings.

Not only have Auld Reekie got new players, but they’ve got a new name too! This will be the first time the ‘All Stars’ have played – they were previously known as the Twisted Thistles. 2015 saw a new streamlined look for Auld Reekie, as they dropped the team names and are now known as the All Stars and the All Star Reserves.

The Reserves have already had one win this year, with a second home game to come at Meadowbank on 28 February, so the All Stars are looking to follow their lead and take home a win this weekend too.

The All Stars are confident; they’ve been working tirelessly all off-season and are looking to build on their new skills and tactics over the season to come. This being the opening weekend, it promises to prove a pretty exciting game!

If you would like to see the next leg of Champs, the All Stars will be playing at home at Meadowbank on 2 May.

visit AARG website at www.arrg.co.uk.
ARRG Facebook: www.facebook.com/auldreekierollergirls
ARRG Twitter: https://twitter.com/auldreekierg

Battling Spartans leave it late

… but the Hibs go marching on!

Ally MacKinnon is – The Equaliser!

Two Edinburgh teams will go into Monday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final draw – just. A late, late show at Ainslie Park saw Spartans strike deep into injury time to force a replay at Berwick, while Hibs safely negotiated a potential banana-skin when they comfortably saw off Arbroath at Easter Road. Shock of the round was Rangers tame surrender to Raith Rovers at Ibrox.

Spartans fell behind to an early Berwick goal and were often second-best during a stirring encounter played in front of a full house at Ainslie Park. Just as in the last round, however, the Lowland League saved the best ’til last. Deep into stoppage time Ally MacKinnon fired home a equaliser that sent the crowd into raptures and ensured wee Spartans live to fight another day. The replay will take place on Tuesday 17 February, and it will take another never-say-die performance to see the local lads progress.

Easter Road couldn’t match Ainslie Park for drama on Saturday, although Hibs did have to come from a goal down to dispose of fourth-tier league leaders Arbroath. A well-worked move saw Kieran Stewart open the scoring for the visitors, but Hibs fans’ nerves were soothed when Djedje equalised with a sweetly struck volley just before half-time.

Hibs continued to dominate after the break, although there was a lot of huffing and puffing to little effect. The introduction of McGeogh brought a sense of purpose to Hibs’ already dominant midfield, however, and it was no surprise when the Easter Road men immediately capitalised on their superiority.

Hibs’ second had more than a touch of good fortune about it – a Cummings shot that wasn’t going to trouble the ‘keeper took a wicked deflection off defender Liam Gordon on the hour mark – and the Easter Road men quickly followed up to seal their place in the quarter finals with a Dylan McGeoch strike in 68 minutes. More workmanlike than spectacular, this was a case of ‘job done’; sterner tests await.

It will be Rangers, however, that will make all the Monday headlines – but once again it will be for all the wrong reasons.

Just when you think it really can’t get any worse for Rangers, it gets worse. This Rangers ‘team’ – I use the term loosely – simply couldn’t match an honest Raith Rovers side for determination, energy, effort or endeavour. Barely 11,000 diehard Rangers fans turned up to watch the debacle – these are dreadful times indeed for a once-great club. It’s not funny anymore – even when the coup de grace, the final indignity, is delivered by the oft-ridiculed figure of fun that is Christian Nade.

After today’s showing, the Ibrox Board might consider relocating their Extraordinary General Meeting from the London’s sumptuous Dorchester Hotel to somewhere more fitting with their current status.

Suggestions welcome …

Elsewhere, there were few surprises. Hot favourites Celtic scored early and were never in any danger against Dundee, Falkirk beat Brechin 2-1 and Inverness CT edged a narrow victory at Partick Thistle. Result of the day was Championship side Queen of the South’s 2-0 victory over Scottish Cup holders St Johnstone with second half goals by Lyle (48) and Reilly (90). On Sunday, Dundee United made short work of Stranraer. Three up at half-time, the Tangerines coasted to an easy victory.

Darts supremo Gary Anderson will help make the draw for the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup on Monday afternoon. The current PDC World Champion will be joined by the Scottish FA First Vice-President, Alan McRae and Joe McCallum from competition sponsors William Hill. The draw takes place at 2pm and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports News. You can also follow the draw on the @ScottishFA Twitter feed.

Teams going into the hat are:

Berwick Rangers or Spartans

Celtic

Dundee United

Falkirk

Hibernian

Inverness CT

Queen of the South

Raith Rovers

Dancing in the streets of Sparta tonight?

Scottish Cup weekend again, and for many neutrals the tastiest tie of the round is the Spartans v Berwick Rangers game at Ainslie Park. Spartans go into the game as underdogs, but playing in front of a packed full house it would be absolutely no surprise to see the North Edinburgh community club progress to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

While it would be a notable victory, on the giant-killing scale Spartans beating Berwick Rangers would barely register a slight tremor. Their visitors, however, know all about cup upsets: Berwick featured in the greatest giant-killing story of them all.

On a cold January afternoon in 1967, 13,365 packed into Berwick’s Shielfield Park to watch a mighty Rangers team, packed with internationals, hammer the ‘wee Rangers’. That was the expectation, but nobody told the Berwick men!

Rangers pummelled away at their hosts from kick-off and forced ten corners in the opening half hour. A goal seemed inevitable, but when it came it shook Scottish football to it’s foundations – in the 32nd minute Sammy Reid hammered the ball past Rangers keeper Norrie Martin to put the minnows ahead!

Rangers battered away at Big Jock Wallace in the Berwick goal – yes, that big Jock Wallace – but they couldn’t break the defiant borderers down. The story goes that, with the game well into injury time and the Ibrox club facing cup exit, Rangers skipper and club legend John Greig had a word with referee Eddie Thomson and asked for another couple of minutes – but was told: “I’ve already given you four!” Berwick Rangers held on to create the greatest shock in Scottish Cup history.

The result was announced on TV and radio in the sombre tones usually reserved for royal funerals and rail disasters. I was a wee laddie at the time, but I remember it like yesterday. What I can’t recall is whether the announcers wore black ties – but I suppose back in those days it was all black and white anyway!

We won’t get shocks of that magnitude this weekend – not if Hibs were humbled by Arbroath, Stranraer stun Dundee United or wee Spartans shock Berwick.

But will there be dancing in the streets of Sparta tonight? I really do think there will be – take your partners!

Scottish Cup Fifth Round ties:

Today:

Dundee v Celtic 12:30pm

Falkirk v Brechin 3pm

Hibernian v Arbroath 3pm

Partick Thistle v Inverness CT 3pm

Queen of South v St Johnstone 3pm

Spartans FC v Berwick 3pm

Tomorrow:

Stranraer v Dundee United 12.30pm

Rangers v Raith Rovers 3pm

Weather’s no match for local Army Cadets!

Nearly one hundred Army Cadets aged 12-18 years shrugged off freezing temperatures during a recent training weekend in the Pentland Hills, their first camp of 2015.

The weekend saw cadets based at Granton Square overcome snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures to put into practice the skills taught at their local Detachment.

Cadets took part in navigation training, first aid and fieldcraft. During the fieldcraft phase, cadets learned how to build improvised shelters and secure a ‘temporary home’ known as a Harbour Area.

Senior Cadets under the supervision of the Adult Volunteers grasped the opportunity to demonstrate to the younger Cadets how preparedness, teamwork and self-discipline can determine your success and survival, whatever the weather.

Major John Tonner, Officer Commanding of the weekend said: “I am extremely impressed with the abilities demonstrated by the Cadets and their maturity in applying themselves in the adverse conditions brought by the cold weather.

“It is a very unique opportunity for individuals to witness how valuable skills provided within our Youth Organisation can steer young people to go further in their chosen path in life”.

The ability to adapt quickly was demonstrated by all of the Cadets resulting in many new qualifications gained and successful testing to allow Cadets to progress onto the next stage of their Cadet careers with 17 Cadets gaining new First Aid qualifications and five Adult Volunteers receiving their First Aid at Work qualification.

17 Platoon is part of Lothian & Borders Army Cadet Force and have training nights every Monday and Wednesday evenings between 7 – 9pm. They welcome cadets between 12 and 18 years of age and encourage parents to get involved too.

You can find out more about the Cadet’s sporting and adventure training activities by visiting their Detachment at the Army Reserve Centre at Granton Square, online at www.lbcadets.co.uk or by calling 01506 856 698.

Spartans: be the twelfth man!

Local club The Spartans play Berwick Rangers this Saturday (7 February) at Ainslie Park in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. If we win we will make history as the first non-league team to play in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup for 55 years!

This Cross-Border clash sees the Lowland League title holders take on their third SPFL opponents on the Road to Hampden. We have already beaten Clyde and Morton and in both games the bumper home support has made all the difference.

Can you be the twelfth man on 7 February? We are making a big plea for everyone in the North Edinburgh community to come along and back their local team as we aim to make history!

The TV cameras will be along, “Pulse of the Place” our local Samba band will provide the pre match entertainment and hundreds of local youngsters will be bringing a real family atmosphere. It promises to be a magical afternoon.

Our Ainslie Park arena holds 3500 people, with 500 seats in our covered stand. Kick-off is at 3pm so please come down early if you want a seat.

Admission is £12 for adults, £8 for concessions and Under 12 s are free (pay at gate) – continuing our commitment to offer affordable football for all. With a bumper crowd expected, we have entrances open on both Pilton Drive and Pilton Avenue.

You can keep up to date with the pre-match news, previews and interviews on our hat-trick of social media sources:

website: www.spartansfc.com,

twitter: @spartansfc and Facebook: Spartans FC

The Spartans Football Club

| Live together, Play together, Win together

An Open Goal? Fans involvement in football clubs

Working group makes final recommendations

A group set up to look at how to get fans and communities more involved with the running of Scottish football clubs has published its final report.

The Working Group for Supporter Involvement in Football Clubs was set up by the Scottish Government in April 2014. Its remit was to identify, consider and recommend ways to increase and improve supporter involvement in Scottish football clubs

The group was chaired by Stephen Morrow, Senior Lecturer in Sport Finance at the University of Stirling. It comprised of representatives from the Scottish Football Association (Scottish FA), Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), Supporters Direct Scotland and sportscotland.

The recommendations include:

• Development of an annual Supporter Involvement Award
• All clubs should give consideration of the best ways that supporters can get involved in how they are run
• Training and guidance should be given to supporters’ representatives
• That the Scottish FA consider as a matter of priority how best supporters can be represented in its formal governance structures
• Clubs to make various key pieces of information available, including names of all board members, their involvement in the club and the reason for their appointment, details of the number of board meetings held and the number of directors attending
• All SPFL clubs to declare the identity of their beneficial owner
• That best practice guidelines be developed for community clubs
• To explore the establishment of a Business, Community and Football Enterprise unit to provide legal and financial support to supporters and club owners

Development and implementation of these recommendations will be overseen by the working group and taken forward by the clubs, governing bodies and relevant associated organisations

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement, and Mental Health said: “Supporters should be at the heart of their football clubs, but too often they have felt marginalised and excluded. We established this working group because we wanted to find ways of making supporter involvement easier, and of strengthening the relationship between clubs and the communities they represent.

“The group has come up with some interesting recommendations and it is now dependent on everyone involved, including the Scottish Government, to make these work.

“These are challenging times for Scotland’s football clubs. The Scottish Government agrees with the working group that a legislative approach to addressing many of these issues is simply too prescriptive and not desirable or necessary at this stage.

“I thank and congratulate all those involved for taking part in this working group, and for taking the important issue of supporter involvement seriously. By working together to implement these recommendations I am confident both fans and clubs can bring about real improvements in how they engage and operate at all levels. ”

Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive, said: “The Scottish FA acknowledges the need for greater supporter involvement in the national game. It is also supportive of the need to enhance fan engagement, not just in-stadia but expanding our digital provision. We have been pleased with the commitment shown by our colleagues in the working group and look forward to working together to implement the recommendations contained in the report.”

Neil Doncaster, SPFL Chief Executive, said: “Supporters are the lifeblood of the game in Scotland. We welcome initiatives that are designed to increase fans’ engagement with their clubs.”

Andrew Jenkin, Acting Head of Supporters Direct Scotland, said: “Supporters Direct Scotland were pleased to be an active member of this Working Group. We believe supporters are integral to the game of football and should continue to be further involved in the decision making with the group offering us the opportunity to shape future recommendations.

“The report rightly states that community ownership of clubs can come in many forms and brings a number of benefits to clubs, supporters and local communities. In Scotland there are various models and examples of fans joining together and offering new solutions in the future ownership of their clubs, from fully owned debt free Clyde, to the Foundation of Hearts”.

Stephen Morrow, who chaired the working group, said: “It is clear that Scottish football is in a period of transition. For example, after a period of great instability it is exciting to see one of our biggest clubs, Hearts, embarking on a journey towards supporter ownership. At the same time, another of our major clubs, Hibernian, is actively considering radical changes to its ownership and governance; proposals which are particularly interesting given that they are not emerging in response to financial crisis.

“One of the areas the Working Group focused on was how to reduce barriers to supporter ownership in circumstances where there is demand for this ownership structure. But it is important to stress that our group did not take the view that there was an ideal ownership model for Scottish football clubs.

“Our emphasis was on how best to encourage broader involvement of supporters, irrespective of the particular ownership structure adopted by a club and I am very grateful to the members of the Working Group for working so constructively to come up with proposals which have the potential to greatly enhance supporter involvement and supporter accountability in practice.”

The full report can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/Sport/football/WorkingGroupSupporterInvolvment

Edinburgh’s budget: what future for Meadowbank?

Can city afford to meet funding shortfall of over £11.3 million?

Councillors will be asked to consider the future of Meadowbank Sports Centre and Stadium as part of the city council’s budget considerations if proposals to be presented to next week’s Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee are agreed.

As Meadowbank heads towards its fiftieth birthday, a report on potential costs and scoping for a replacement venue that would be “fit for the 21st Century” will be presented to the Committee on 20 January. Members will be asked to refer the proposals for a new venue for a decision as part of the Council’s budget considerations on 12 February.

Funding options and architectural design concepts for replacing Meadowbank, which was originally built for Edinburgh’s 1970 Commonwealth Games, have been developed with input from relevant governing bodies of sport. The plans would see the existing site transformed into a brand new sports centre that would serve the sporting needs of the local community as well as the city and east of Scotland with facilities for physical activity, health and wellbeing.

The funding proposals estimate the overall cost of building a new Meadowbank facility as £43m. It is envisaged that this will be achieved through funding from SportScotland of between £5m to £7m; revenue savings to the Council from closing the facilities during construction; prudential borrowing based on forecasts for net income and through the sale of surplus land at Meadowbank. This would leave funding required to be identified by the Council of between £11.3m and £19.8m.

Should funding be agreed by Council on 12 February, a new Meadowbank would include:

An outdoor athletics track with seating for 500
An indoor 60m six lane athletics track with jumps area
An outdoor throws area
A 3G synthetic sports pitch or grass pitch in the centre of the outdoor athletics track for football, rugby and other pitch sports
An additional outdoor 3G synthetic sports pitch
An eight badminton court sports hall with 500 permanent seats plus bleachers (the same size as the current Meadowbank Hall 1)
A four badminton court sports hall with 500 permanent seats(the same size as the current Meadowbank Hall 2)
A gymnastics hall, gym, studios, changing facilities, café, meeting rooms.

If these current plans are agreed, and funding is secured, the new Meadowbank could be ready by 2018. If the decision is taken not to proceed, however, options for a planned withdrawal of service at Meadowbank over the next five years will be identified.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “For almost 50 years now, Meadowbank has nurtured sporting participation at all levels – from those taking part for recreational and health benefits to those training for success and medals on a Scottish and international stage. It feels right that after Scotland’s successful Commonwealth Games 2014, we kick off 2015 by considering the future of the country’s very first Games venue.

“The feasibility study requested by the Council in February 2014 has now been completed and before progressing further, a decision from Council is required as to whether it can meet the £11.3m to £19.8m funding shortfall currently projected.

“Over half a million users visit Meadowbank every year and it is a much-loved city sports facility, but we will need to consider how we can source funding for a project of this scale given the financial pressures the Council faces.

“If agreed by the Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee, the future of Meadowbank will form part of the Council’s budget considerations for the next financial year.”

June Peebles, Interim Chief Executive of Edinburgh Leisure, said: “Meadowbank is part of Edinburgh’s sporting heritage and continues to attract thousands of customers, participating in a wide range of physical activities, through its doors every week.

“Edinburgh Leisure is therefore delighted to be working with the Council on this exciting project which could create a new Meadowbank for the city, creating an inspiring and welcoming venue that supports even more people to get active, stay active and achieve more.”

All set for city showdown

The Championship’s form teams lock horns when Hearts meet Hibs at Tynecastle today. The Gorgie men have established a seemingly unassailable lead at the top of the table but Hibs impressive victory over Rangers last weekend gives them hope that they can end their rival’s unbeaten run.

Everything has gone right for Hearts this season; never mind just the ‘talk o’ the toon’, the Tynecastle club’s transformation has been the talk of Scottish football. In a wee media world where Glesca remains the centre of the football universe, Rangers ongoing woes still capture most of the headlines but there’s been a quiet revolution taking place at Tynecastle.

The club has embraced a radical business idea – well, the football business, anyway – where you only spend as much as you take in and you don’t buy things you can’t afford to pay for! I know, it sounds crazy but it seems to be working so far for Hearts; call me delusional but maybe one day all cubs will operate this way – the ones that survive, anyway.

Living in the real world has done Hearts no harm, either. The club has established a fifteen point gap at the top of the table and has gone eighteen league games unbeaten – the sole remaining unbeaten club in the British leagues. Fans have flocked back in their thousands. It’s working.

Hearts have dropped just four points all season and that’s mainly down mainly to organisation and the increasing confidence that goes with a successful run. Hearts started the season with a win over Rangers and have topped the table ever since – week after week they have continued to relentlessly grind out results (even when they haven’t played well) with a consistency none of the challengers can match. It’s a winning mentality that’s become ingrained.

Hibs performance against Rangers last weekend was mighty impressive – the best ninety minutes the Easter Road men have enjoyed for years. Critics point to a woeful Rangers side but very few teams could have resisted the Hibs we saw last week. The problem is, though, consistency – what Hibs team will we see today? The buccaneering, free-flowing, attacking cavaliers of last week or the timid, disorganised, nervous bunch of individuals who too often underperform against sides they should comfortably see off?

If it’s the former, we’re in for a treat – facing Hearts at Tynecastle is a formidable test and it will be fascinating to see just how far Stubbs’ team has progressed. If it’s the latter, Hearts will bully them and brush them aside.

You don’t need an extra incentive in an Edinburgh derby, but for Hearts it’s surely to keep that unbeaten record intact while Hibs fans would take an awful lot of pleasure if their team was to bring that Tynecastle run to a crashing halt. Realistically it’s too late to mount a serious challenge to Hearts, but a victory over Hearts would get the New Year off to just the right start for Hibees.

Hearts go into today’s game without front men Dale Carrick, Soufian El Hassnaoui and Osman Sow, while defender Kevin McHattie is also an absentee. Lack of front men has not proved too much of an inconvenience in the league campaign so far, however – and who better than Director of Football Craig Levein to offer Robbie Neilson some sage advice about setting up a team without a recognised striker!

Hibs have been boosted by news that talismanic striker Dominique Malonga is available after being given special dispensation to delay his trip to the African Nations Cup with Congo. Neither Jordon Forster or Dylan McGeouch are likely to figure today and Farid El Alagui is also ruled out.

Key men today are likely to be Hibs’ Scott Allan, who was immense against Rangers and has impressed all season, and Hearts’ influential midfielder Morgaro Gomis but there are likely to be key personal duels going on all over the park and it’s just as likely that a totally unexpected match winner will be today’s derby hero.

I don’t expect any silky, flowing football but I do expect drama and excitement and I hope it’s the players, and not the match officials, who make tomorrow’s headlines.

If Hearts take something from today’s testing encounter there’s every reason to believe that they can negotiate the remainder of their league games without defeat. That would be a mighty achievement, and it’s enough of an incentive to convince me that Hearts won’t allow themselves to be beaten today – I predict a score draw.

No New Year Belles for roller girls!

It’s been a year to remember for Auld Reekie Roller Girls – and there’s a lot to look forward to in the year ahead too …

2014 was another exciting year for Auld Reekie Roller Girls (AARG).

January saw us embark upon our third annual intraleague Home Season – and, as we’ve witnessed for the past two years, we saw the Skatefast Club and the Leithal Weapons make it to the final, but this year, for the first time, the amazing Skatefast Club took the title!

February was a busy month of training for us all, and in March the Twisted Thistles played a closed game against Tiger Bay Brawlers, and won.

May saw the Thistles head off to Oregon to compete in the Big O tournament, whilst our Cannon Belles took on Newcastle at home, and won.

We had our annual awards ball in June, which is an amazing celebration of our work both on and off skates, and a lovely excuse to get dressed up and have a night out.

In August we played our annual Fringe games, first our Belles took on Dirty River Roller Girls and then the Thistles faced London Roller Girls Brawl Saints. Sadly we were defeated on both occasions, but the Belles did not feel defeated and they went on to beat Hamburg at home in September. Nor were the Thistles, who also came out with a win when Royal Windsor Rollergirls came to play.

Then, the Belles headed off to Oslo for a tournament with some really highly ranked opponents; Oslo Roller Derby and Dock City Roller Girls. The tournament was incredibly hard and both games saw us defeated, but we fought hard for every point, coming home and ready for the last game of the year, against Malmo’s B team and ended the year on a high with a comfortable win.

And so another year ends, but this time with some BIG changes afoot for 2015.

First and most excitingly, the Thistles and Belles are no more! We have retired these names and as of January 1st, the teams will be known as the Auld Reekie Roller Girls All Stars and All Star Reserves.

This is an exciting movement forward for us, and we are super excited. We’ve also seen big changes with our home season, which is now taking place at the end of the year, from September to November. By the time it comes around, we’ll have a massive number of new skaters in the league so it will definitely not be one to miss.

We’ve also got a lot of really exciting games planned for this year, including being part of the British Champs Premier League where we will play with the other top 4 leagues in the UK to battle it out for the top spot! Look out for more information on that.

We hope to see more and more fans at our home games, and for more information on the fixtures, check on arrg.co.uk or for any enquiries, email communications@arrg.co.uk.

Here’s to 2015!

Auld Reekie Roller Girls

Living wage: there's nae other team to compare to the Hearts!

Heart of Midlothian have scored with anti-poverty campaigners after the Gorgie team became the first football club in Scotland to pay all staff the living wage.

The decision will see all club employees paid at least £7.85 per hour – £1.35 more than the national minimum wage.

Hearts currently top their league by a wide margin and a return to the top flight at the first time of asking looks inevitable. Off the park, the club is doing things right too – and with their profile sky high it’s hoped that where Hearts lead, others will follow.

The Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative was launched in April to provides support and advice to organisations. It’s delivered by The Poverty Alliance, and director Peter Kelly has welcomed Hearts’ initiative. He said: “Almost two in three children in poverty in Scotland live in a household where someone works, and the living wage is a vital tool in lifting people out of in work poverty.

“Football clubs have an important role in communities across Scotland. With thousands of people turning out every week to support their local clubs, they can play an important leadership role, not only for fans but for the businesses they work with.

“I hope that more clubs will follow Heart of Midlothian’s example but not only giving their staff a pay rise this Christmas, but by showing real leadership on this issue on and off the pitch.”

A Heart of Midlothian spokesperson said the move was in keeping with the club’s values. “Heart of Midlothian Football Club is delighted to be given accreditation to become a living wage employer.

“The club feels that implementing the living wage is entirely in keeping with the values that we hold dear as Edinburgh’s oldest football club. Since revealing our intention to implement the living wage the club has received widespread backing from both our supporters and sponsors.”

More than 70 employers are now accredited as paying the living wage, but there’s a long way to go – in Scotland, it’s estimated that at least 414,000 workers are currently paid below the living wage.