Airdrie fan cancels birthday plans after receiving Diamonds top team call

Driving lessons were cancelled so that an Airdrie-daft teenager could chase his football dream, and his proud mum hopes that steers him in the right direction.

Midfielder Jamie White was called up for Airdrie’s first-team ahead of their 1-0 defeat at Raith Rovers on October 29, which also happened to be his 17th birthday.

Mum Debbie, from Chapelhall, jokes that the football-daft teenager came out with a ball attached, and wants nothing more than a crack at the professional game.

While he was on the bench for the Stark’s Park clash in Kirkcaldy, the 4-0 derby defeat at home to Hamilton and Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Falkirk, he is yet to step onto the field, but his Diamonds-supporting family have their fingers crossed.

Debbie said: “Jamie has come through the academy, and been in the under-18s for the last two years.

“He has been captain as well in the last year.

“He got the call on the Sunday, it was his birthday on the Tuesday, but we had to cancel his birthday plans.

“He had a driving lesson booked, and then dinner on Tuesday night, but he had been called up for the first team.

“We’ve been Airdrie fans all our lives, my dad was a really big fan, my husband Harry’s family are all big Airdrie fans as well, so Jamie has grown up, going to the games.

“We had our wedding reception in the stadium.

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“It’s a big deal for him, growing up in Airdrie and then being called up for them.

“He hasn’t signed officially yet, this is just the start of it, but he has been on the bench at Raith Rovers and at the stadium, so fingers crossed that he gets a chance.

“Alan Gow, his coach at under-18, just loves him, sees the potential in him and is on to Rhys McCabe about him, so fingers crossed for him that he’s going to do well.”

Jamie is working with Airdrie coach Brian Hamilton doing landscaping work, but has been solely focused on football for his whole life.

Debbie said: “Jamie’s hero growing up was Scott Brown, because he’s a Celtic supporter as well, and his dad Harry played for Motherwell when he was younger, so he was a big influence on him as well.

“Jamie is a great wee player and grew up playing – he came out with a football attached to him!

“He left St Aloysius’ Primary and went through the Football Academy at Braidhurst High in Motherwell, then to Broadwood with North Lanarkshire College, doing football, and that was through Airdrieonians last year.

“He’s just football daft and it’s a proud moment for the whole family.

“It’s going to be a huge moment when he gets on the pitch, especially if it’s at Airdrie, and I’m quite confident that it will happen soon.

“He says playing football is all he can imagine doing, especially now that he’s out working landscapes, because he doesn’t want to do that for the rest of his life!”

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