FRIENDSHIP WINS

In the last few days, news reached us of a poignant yet heart-warming story of an enduring tangerine-tinted friendship, loss and remembrance, generosity of heart and a DUDA jackpot lottery win!

When Thomas Miller, a dyed-in-the-wool United fan sadly died of cancer last year, his fellow Arab friend Wullie continued to pay "Tam's" weekly lottery subscription in memory of his mate. As regulars in the Clep, they had enjoyed many happy times together chatting and sharing banter on all things tangerine, with Tam being sadly missed by Wullie and all his United supporting friends.

The winners of each Friday's Lottery Draw are of course randomly selected by a computer. Perhaps, just perhaps however, when Tam's seat was selected for the £2,000 jackpot win a week ago, a benevolent universe decided to shine a light on this touching story which makes football the beautiful game it is. True to style and to round things off, Wullie chose to donate the prize to the late Tam's family.

All proceeds of the Lottery go to support the work of Our Academy and, as such, the future of Dundee United. Academy Director Andy Goldie said: “Although deeply saddened to hear of Thomas’s passing, it was heart-warming that his friend Wullie’s generosity had returned some happiness back to the family in his memory. It is acts such as these that make our fans so special and why we can’t wait to welcome them back to Tannadice in the hopefully not too distant future.

"Our fans are the heartbeat of our Club and their ongoing support of Our Academy through the DUDA United Futures Lottery and Matchday 50/50 is greatly appreciated, and we are very grateful to particularly Wullie, the late Tam and his family.”

Our picture shows Thomas “Tam” Miller (left) Wullie Thomson (right).

For more information on the Lottery and the virtual 50/50, visit the Dundee United Development Association website.