- Quote: ‘Pinatar Arena a fantastic asset for the Scottish FA. Benefits are untold, improving players immensely. Spain being a long term vision to keep playing top opposition and in turn improving our players across the board’ – former Scottish FA performance director Malky Mackay
By Andrew Atkinson
Scotland’s stay at the Pinatar Arena training camp paid-off as they qualified for the 2022 World Cup play-offs – a huge achievement for manager Steve Clarke
After play-off qualifying wins against Moldova and Denmark Scotland hopes of reaching the Qatar 2022 finals remain alive.
The win against Denmark on November 15 guaranteed Scotland being among the seeded teams.
The Scotland national team returned to Pinatar training camp in November in preparation for their last two FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers against Moldova and Denmark, based at Pinar Arena Football Centre during November 7-11.
Scotland men’s and women’s youth teams, along with the Scotland Women’s National team have played international matches in Pinatar in recent years.
The Scottish FA utilised the facilities of the Pinatar Arena and surrounding hotels in Murcia, to create the perfect environment.
Since 2017 Scotland have played at Pinatar Arena against teams including Brazil, Chile, Russia and Japan.
Malky Mackay, ex-Cardiff, Watford and Wigan boss stepped down as Scottish Football Association performance director in May to take charge of Ross County.
Mackay was the performance director at the Scottish FA for four years, having also been engaged by UEFA and FIFA on special projects.
“I worked for the Scottish FA and the governance of the game in Scotland for four years, and asked to be interim manager of the national team, and engaged with UEFA and FIFA.
“When I joined the Scottish FA I analysed the seven national teams that fall under my remit and there was a sense of randomness, in terms of where we played our warm-up games for competitive qualifiers.
“We usually have friendly game windows in February-March and September-October and there didn’t seem to be any joined up thinking in terms of where we went, who we played against, along with the finances that are attached to all of the trips.
“There is now a consistency of knowing that the travel to San Pedro Del Pinatar is straightforward and the standard of training pitches, accommodation and food is of a good quality.
“Scotland go to Spain out of season and the weather is perfect for teams as a training destination.
“I visited various training grounds and hotels across Spain to see what would be an ideal fit for our teams.
“40 minutes away from Alicante Airport we discovered a hidden gem in San Pedro Del Pinatar which has become an ideal training camp locations for the national teams.
“The hotels are fantastic, as are the seven training pitches, the gym, swimming pool and the Pinatar Arena.
“Through a combination of ourselves using it and other circumstances, the Spanish youth teams are now utilising the facility. It has the rubber stamp from the Spanish squads with the quality of facilities.
“We’ve been able to play a variety of countries including Belgium, Spain, France and Brazil which has benefitted all of our teams in terms of their development as they have tested themselves against different systems, styles and cultures.
“We have a standardised way of working model for all of our teams so they know there is consistent quality whenever we play our warm-up events.
“Both the owner of the Pinatar Arena and IAST SPORTS, who help arrange the games, have been a fantastic asset for the Scottish FA.
“The benefits are untold, in terms of the quality of opposition we’ve faced, in great conditions.
“This is a standardised approach to best practice which has improved our players immensely.
“There’s a specific reason why we go out to Spain with it being a long term vision to keep playing top opposition and in turn improving our players across the board.”
Caption: Former Scottish FA performance director Malky Mackay: Pinatar Arena a fantastic asset for the Scottish FA.
