Airline supports young goalie’s football ambition

A SHETLAND teenager has signed a deal with Loganair to propel her professional ambitions in football.

Katie Anderson from Burra has been offered free travel from Sumburgh to Dundee via Loganair’s Flying’s For All scheme, which champions equality for women.

The support will allow Katie to fly for free as she chases a professional career as a goalkeeper, with the aim of emulating her idol – Manchester United’s Mary Earps.

Anderson, 16, currently plays for Shetland Girls’ Football Club’s under 18s team and wants to start her own training academy for goalies in the isles.

With limited facilities and opportunities in Shetland, she has been training and playing locally while flying to Dundee for additional coaching with BGK Academy.

Loganair has now stepped in to help take Anderson’s ambitions to the next level by supporting her travel for training with free flights.

She said: “It’s my passion to make professional goalkeeping my career but living on Burra means I have to cross three bridges just to get to the mainland for games.

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“I would love to provide specialist training here in Shetland for all goalkeepers, but the facilities are limited so I’ve been travelling to Dundee to attend extra training on a four to six-week basis.

“As far as my goalkeeper coaching is concerned, having a direct link to Dundee makes everything so easy.

“I miss less school and I don’t have long travel times on trains or the ferry, which means I am not over tired from travelling and I’m in the best possible physical condition before training.”

Loganair’s chief commercial officer Luke Lovegrove said: “We have a fantastic connection with our island communities and the regions we connect them to, such as Dundee. This puts us in a very fortunate position to support people like Katie.

“She is an inspirational young woman who is determined to encourage greater participation in sport for all, but particularly other young people who might not have the same opportunities to access professional football as those on the mainland.”