Can Tartan Army help us steal an international march?

Football can help deliver wide benefits to Scotland's Capital, but we risk losing out says report

On tour, the Tartan Army in Germany: Pic Tartan Army

Scotland’s footballers may have fallen at the final hurdle in their bid to make history at Euro 2024 – but their supporters have scored a remarkable, soft-power victory that could have positive ramifications for decades to come.

All of the official dignitaries, all of the celebrity fans, all of the best efforts of Steve Clarke and his squad of talented and honest players couldn’t achieve what Scotland’s famous Tartan Army have managed.

A nation – and a big, important one – has fallen in love with Scotland. Scotland’s fans visited three cities in Germany – Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart. All three praised their visitors, and all three were sorry to see them leave.

Headlines like those in the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger, Cologne’s biggest selling daily, said simply “We love you Scots.” The German internet news service Blick carried a history of the Tartan Army under the headline, ‘The history of the friendliest army in the world.’

Cologne Mayor Reker

And the Mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker, tweeted: "Dear Scots, those have been a wonderful couple of days with you. I could not be a happier mayor. You are always welcome back to Cologne!" One of Munich mayor Dieter Reiter's top officials agreed: “Scotland’s fans have been so impressive. We are considering how to acknowledge this."

Best of all, ordinary Germans have been just as enchanted by the well-refreshed ranks of the 200,000 who travelled. So much so that two, Max Kirchi and Vert Stabs, have launched a petition urging the nations’ two footballing authorities to stage an annual friendly between the countries. At the time of writing, the petition on Change.org was well on its way to achieving its target of 25,000 signatures – with hundreds signing every hour.

Football is the most popular sport in the world with an estimated 265 million people playing and 3.5 billion considering themselves football fans, according to FIFA.

All of this just days after a battery of experts met in Edinburgh to discuss a paper that looks at how and why football can play a much bigger, more influential role in the everyday life of our nation and its Capital. “Edinburgh Futures, Football and the City” was authored by a team of academics and experts led by Professor Grant Jarvie of the University of Edinburgh Academy of Sport think tank.