Joe Jordan urges SFA and Hollyrood to do more as Manchester United and Scotland hero asks 'where's our Gareth Bale?'
dailyrecord.co.ukScotland hero Joe Jordan ended 16 years of hurt when his spectacular diving header gave the national team a 2-1 win over Czechoslavakia at Hampden in 1973, which took them to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.
The former Leeds United, Manchester United, AC Milan and Verona hitman went on to become the only Scot to score at three consecutive tournaments and can’t believe we’re now looking at going 28 years – and counting – since we last qualified for the biggest competition of them all.
While some have criticised manager Steve Clarke for his tactics in last week’s World Cup play-off semi-final defeat by Ukraine, Jordan looks at the bigger picture and insists the SFA and Holyrood need to do more to produce talented youngsters – starting with scrapping fees for kids to join teams in the poorest areas of the country. “Politicians talk about kids being obese,” said Jordan. “Why can’t they look after them by finding a way to let them kick a ball about without having to pay a penny?“Football has always drawn the vast majority of its players from working class areas."I came from Cleland, a mining village in Lanarkshire.
Quite apart from helping improve the standard of our game by providing more good players, there would also be added health benefits if that was the case.“Schools could also have a part to play."I had one teacher, a Mr Casey, who saw something in me and he was passionate about the sport and put in the effort by taking our team.
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