The Scottish Football Partnership has hailed Dundee East Community Sports Club as “a model” for others to follow across Scotland as their new 3G all-weather training pitch at Whitton Park was officially opened on Monday evening. The SFP, who have already supported the club in the last few years with changing facilities, floodlights and a minibus, came in with £40,000 extra funding to back up the CashBack for Communities grant DECSC received from SportScotland. Stuart McCaffrey,of the SFP, said: “Dundee East is a model for clubs throughout Scotland to follow. We were keen to support the project when DECSC came to see us in March and we are delighted that our funding helped to see it delivered so quickly and as a top class facility. We have worked with DECSC in the past and it is a great example of clubs working together for the greater good. The sports club has been on the go for five years and there are seven sports clubs including a Junior team, an Amateur team and several Youth teams. The SFP is delighted to have played its part. It is the ideal base to build on for the benefit of the community at large and the development of football in Dundee”. Gordon Deuchars,chair of DECSC, said: “The SFP have helped us realise our vision. With their funding, on top of the backing from SportScotland, we can provide fantastic facilities at Whitton Park. Over 1200 kids now benifit from the new facility and one of our youth coaches highlighted to me the other day that the number of kids coming to training has increased and thanks to the new surface their skill levels have been improving. We are proud of what has been achieved”.