FORGING LINKS WITH THE STATES

Dundee United FC were delighted to welcome Penn State University Knight Chair of Sports Journalism and Society John Affleck and two students, Kelly Warner and Lexy Leidlein, as guests to the recent Hearts match at Tannadice.

The students who are over in Scotland as part of a wider group, came along and experienced the match from the perspective of a Press Reporter.

Upon arrival, the trio were welcomed to the stadium with a small token of Dundee United memorabilia, before watching the match from the Tannadice press box and experiencing all the aspect of modern day media reporting at an SPFL ground.

After the match, United midfielder Ian Harkes was on hand to chat to the guests and conduct an interview that will form part of a wider video content piece that will be broadcast on local television back in Pennsylvania.

The visit came to fruition following enhanced conversations between John and Communications Director Joe Rice and the Club will now continue those conversations and indeed look to pursue some best practice sharing and build relationships with the various departments at Penn State University as we continue our pursuit of innovative strategies to continue the improvement of all aspects of Dundee United FC.

Communication Director Joe Rice said, “It was a delight to welcome John, Kelly and Lexy to the stadium. They certainly chose the right game as it was an action-packed tie that highlighted all that was good about Scottish football. I think getting to meet Ian Harkes was the icing on the cake for their visit and they all left Tannadice very happy.

“From a club development point of view, we are always looking to engage with other innovators and when the opportunity arose to speak to John and foster the beginning of a relationship with Penn State, it immediately appealed. Once we had met and spoke about the visions and ambition of our club, it was clear that John also wanted to encourage a relationship.”

Knight Chair John Affleck commented, “It’s important for our students to understand the passion that fuels sports in other nations, and to compare and contrast how matches – we’d say games -- are presented. Our experience at Tannadice gave us a great sense of the fan excitement around Scottish football and everyone at Dundee United was a huge help. We’ll remember the experience for a long time.”