THERE are just five weeks to go until Scotland kick off this summer's European Championships and Dunfermline's planned fan zone has scored parliamentary backing.

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman has revealed he and his family are set to join up to 3,000 others in roaring on the national side during Euro 2024 from KDM Group East End Park.

He visited the home of Dunfermline Athletic last week, where he was met by 1968 Scottish Cup winning captain, and club legend, Roy Barry, to buy his tickets for the Dunfermline City Fan Zone.

It opens on Friday June 14, when Steve Clarke's Scots open the tournament against hosts Germany in Munich, and runs until June 23, the date of their last group match, against Hungary.

The Norrie McCathie Stand, which will include a dedicated family section, will be open for seating to watch Scotland's matches - they also play Switzerland in Group A - with two "festival-style" LED screens to be positioned on either side of the pitch.

There will also be a stage providing other forms of entertainment, including interviews, bands and DJs, whilst fans attending can also take advantage of food trucks and stalls, a licenced bar and other activities and entertainment, as well as free travel with Stagecoach.

The plans have been hailed a winner by Mr Chapman, who commented: "I’m so impressed with Alister Burn and his team at the club who have put in some shift to turn around this fan zone initiative successfully for the upcoming UEFA Euros in Germany.

"When we first discussed this as a possibility at the start of the year, I was just one excited fan looking forward to seeing Scotland play on the big European stage. I was hoping to join the Tartan Army for all the first stage group games of the competition but, like many fans, tickets for the Scotland games in Germany were hard to come by, and the Dunfermline City Fan Zone seemed to be a great way of experiencing the games in a big match atmosphere for fans who, like me, couldn't get to Germany.

"My family and I now look forward to joining other Tartan Army fans at what promises to be an amazing series of events with live acts, DJs, a film night and delicious local food vendors on site, as well as the crucial first match of the tournament against the host nation, Germany, along with the two other group stage games versus Switzerland and Hungary.

"Having checked what other cities and clubs are doing across the country, it seems that DAFC have thought this through really well and have got their arrangements and pricing spot on…all we need now is for Scotland to play out of their skins and make it a few nights to remember for the Tartan Army."

Alister Burn, Dunfermline Athletic's commercial manager, said that ticket sales are ahead of target, adding: "Things are progressing well and the response to the event both locally and nationally has been extremely positive.

"This has shown in ticket sales which are tracking ahead of where we thought we would be with five weeks to go till kick off.

"With some domestic football still to play, people’s thoughts haven’t turned to the Euro’s just yet, and we expect to see most of the ticket sales in the 2-3 weeks before the opening match on June 14th.

"We are just about to finish our consultation period with Fife Council and the public and, soon after, will be positioned to announce more exciting acts and further events planned across the 10 days."

A consultation with residents living close to the stadium was due to be held yesterday evening (Wednesday), whilst fan zone organisers hope that, in addition to match screenings, there will be a number of mainly free activities on offer, such as a food, drink and makers market, and a free community movie event.

For information on how to buy tickets, visit https://dunfermlinecityfanzone.com/.