Fans buy into Dee bid for a virtual sell-out

DUNDEE fans might not be able to turn up in person as the team get their 2021 Scottish Cup campaign under way.

However, that’s not deterring thousands of Dees trying to ‘sell out’ Dens Park for their second-round clash with Bonnyrigg Rose tonight.

The match may be on BBC Scotland but more than 2,400 virtual tickets have already been snapped up by supporters eager to help out their club.

The scheme was launched by the 1893 Foundation to offer up virtual tickets to fill out the stands at Dens after borrowing the idea from fans of German club Dynamo Dresden.

And fans wasted no time this week with some snapping up multiple ‘briefs’ at £2.50 a pop, raising more than £6,000 at the time of writing.

All money goes to the club through the Foundation’s monthly donation.

1893 ambassador Scott Roberts said: “We sold over 1,500 in the first day at £2.50 each and hope to sell as many as we can before kick-off.

“The idea came from Dynamo Dresden in Germany, who had been in some financial trouble. Their fans sold 72,000 virtual tickets at five euros a head. That’s a lot of money.

“Obviously we aren’t aiming for that level but we hope we can help our club in some way.”

A Dundee spokesman said: “It’s been another fantastic response from the supporters.

“The last few weeks have seen the team turn in some great performances and get some fine results but there has definitely been a big part of it missing with no supporters.

“This will hopefully make some fans feel a bit closer to it, getting their souvenir ticket sent to them on Saturday afternoon then sitting down to watch the match on TV in the evening.”

To buy a virtual ticket for the weekend clash, head to the club website at dundeefc.co.uk