Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

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Also known as DAFC, or the DA by local fans, and are nicknamed the Pars. Dunfermline were once managed by Jock Stein of Celtic and Scotland fame, and thanks to a good season in 2003/2004 they were back in Europe for the first time in 35 years when they were involved in the 2004/2005 UEFA Cup. This was to turn out in disappointment however as they lost to Icelandic team FH Hafnarfjörður in the qualifing round. Dunfermline ran into financial difficulty in 2003 and narrowly avoided going into administration.

Related Topics:
Jock Stein - Scotland - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - UEFA Cup - Icelandic - FH Hafnarfjörður - Administration

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In 2003 Dunfermline became the first European team to install a plastic artificial pitch at their East End Park stadium. The pitch was part of an experiment by UEFA to try and improve playing surfaces. In 2005 however, following a ruling by the Scottish Premier League, Dunfermline were forced to remove this surface and commence replacing it, with grass said to have originally been intented for Wembley Stadium, and their first scheduled home game was changed to an away game to allow extra time to install the new grass surface. However, the Scottish Football League still allows artificial surfaces, and there is apparently interest from other clubs in purchasing the artificial pitch.

Related Topics:
2003 - East End Park - UEFA - 2005 - Scottish Premier League - Wembley Stadium - Scottish Football League

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