Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been invited to Dundee to visit the site the city has earmarked for the National Performance Centre for Sport if its bid is successful.
Dundee has been shortlisted with Stirling and Edinburgh for the centre, with the final decision to be made this summer.
A Scottish Government steering group has decided bids from Dundee City Council, Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and a partnership between Stirling University and Stirling Council will go through to the next stage of the bidding process.
MSP Jenny Marra, who launched the campaign to bring the national football academy to Dundee two years ago and has been backed by Scotland star Charlie Adam, has invited the deputy first minister to come and see for herself what Dundee can offer.
In an email to her, Jenny Marra says: “Following today’s announcement that Dundee is one of the three bids that has reached the final stage of the competition for the National football academy and performance centre, I would like to invite you to visit our proposed site Camperdown Park with me.
“Since I launched our campaign for the football academy in July, 2011, over 6,000 Dundonians have signed up to the campaign to bring it to the city.
“I know that people in Dundee would be delighted if the Deputy First Minister with responsibility for this decision would come to the city to visit our proposed site.”
Perth and Kinross Council and St Andrews University both lost out in their bids for the project.
The national centre will seek to nurture sporting talent from across the disciplines, with a national football academy at its heart, drawing in top-class athletes and coaches from across the country.
Ms Marra added: “I think today this is fantastic news for everyone in Dundee, but looking ahead it is also the time for us to roll our sleeves up and step up the campaign because we need to win the bid for the national football academy thissummer.
“We now need everyone in the city to get behind the bid. Local businesses have offered their help to do this, and today I will be speaking to Dundee City Council to offer their help to them.
“We need to put all our heads together now to make the bid impossible for the Scottish Government to refuse.”
A spokesperson for Dundee FC said: “We are delighted that the City of Dundee bid for the national performance centre has advanced into the second stage. “It is a testament to the team who have worked so hard on the bid and we congratulate all of them.
“Director Steve Martin and chief executive officer Scot Gardiner have both been participants on the committee since the beginning of the process and we as a club will continue to do everything we can to help bring the centre to Dundee as we believe this project would give the city a tremendous boost across many sectors.”
Dundee United also welcomed the city’s success in being shortlisted.
A spokesman said: “Dundee United is delighted that the bid to bring the national football academy to Dundee has made the short list.
“The club is represented on the City Council steering committee which brought the bid forward and fully supports this important project for the city.”