The Tartan Army is the collective name for supporters of the Scotland national football team. The name, derived from tartan, a traditional symbol of Scotland, has been widely used since 1970s and refers to the travelling support that follows the national team at home and abroad. The group is known for its colourful displays, songs, large-scale tournament followings and charitable activities, and has developed a reputation as one of football's most distinctive supporter groups.
History Origins Tartan is part of the symbolic national dress of Scotland, and the name Tartan Army first came into common usage in the 1970s, to describe the "well-refreshed hordes" who would stand on the terracings at Hampden Park, or biannually at Wembley for the England match. Scotland fans were criticised at that time for their hooliganism, particularly after they invaded the Wembley pitch and destroyed the goalposts after the 2–1 win against England in 1977. p77
Two years later, 349 arrests were made and a further 144 fans were ejected from Wembley Stadium during the 1979 British Home Championship match, mainly for drunk and disorderly behaviour and vandalism. The behaviour in that latter match prompted the Scottish Sports Minister Alex Fletcher to apologise to colleagues and led to the creation of the Scotland Travel Club.
Scotland Travel Club
The Scotland Travel Club was established in 1980 with the expressed purpose of encouraging responsible behaviour by fans. It has been suggested that the improvement in behaviour arose mainly from a desire to look better than the English fans, who experienced significant problems with hooliganism during the 1980s and 1990s.
The organisation of the Travel Club had an immediate impact, with the Scotland matches at the 1982 FIFA World Cup being played in a "family atmosphere". The Tartan Army were named as the best supporters during the 1992 European Championship with 5,000 travelling to Sweden. At the 1998 World Cup in France, The Tartan army again received an award for their behaviour with BBC News describing the Scotland fans as "one of the highlights" of that World Cup, noting their colourful appearance. It is estimated that 20,000 supporters travelled to the World Cups in Spain in 1982 and Italy in 1990., whilst 30,000 are estimated to have travelled to France in 1998.
Matches against England, which used to be played on an annual basis as part of the British Home Championship, were eventually stopped after 1989 due to violence and organised hooliganism. Both matches that were played between the countries in November 1999 in qualification for UEFA Euro 2000 had associated problems. Strathclyde Police made 230 arrests in connection with the tie played at Hampden, while trouble at the second leg in Wembley resulted in 56 supporter injuries and 39 arrests. Police spokesmen downplayed the incidents after both games, however. Comments after the first game indicated that the arrests were for minor public order offences and that the scale of violence witnessed was lower than a typical Friday evening in Glasgow. The Metropolitan Police adopted a "zero tolerance" approach for the second game, but the number of arrests was "comparatively small" and the "vast majority" of supporters were well behaved.
21st century The Tartan Army were awarded a Fair Play prize by the Belgian Olympic Committee after a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Brussels. The fans had been praised by the mayor of Zagreb for their behaviour after a match against Croatia in the same competition. In April 2002, during the joint bid by Scotland and Ireland to host the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament, First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell cited the "worldwide reputation" of the Tartan Army as a strength of the bid, stating that other countries welcome their arrival "with open arms".
Scotland Supporters Club
In 2005, the Scotland Travel Club became the Scotland Supporters Club, with sections for younger fans being established. Membership had grown to 17,000 by this time. The UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign saw membership numbers increase dramatically to a capacity of 27,500, with a waiting list of over 10,000.
In 2007, an estimated 15,000 Tartan Army supporters travelled to Paris, marching through the city before Scotland's famous 1–0 victory over France at the Parc des Princes in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying. The Scotland Supporters Club is operated by the Scottish Football Association, with membership guaranteeing one match ticket for all home fixtures and offering the opportunity to apply for away match tickets. As of August 2010, the club was at its maximum capacity of 35,000 members and did not accept new applications.
In August 2008, Irish Football Association chief executive Howard Wells criticised jeering from Scottish supporters during the British National Anthem, "God Save the Queen", before a friendly international match against Northern Ireland. The SFA, who had pleaded with fans not to jeer the anthem, admitted that they were also "disappointed" by the booing. The Scottish Government also criticised the Tartan Army, commenting that it had "tarnished" their reputation. Scotland were not punished for the booing because the match was a friendly, which fell outside the jurisdiction of UEFA. The British anthem was used by Scotland until the 1970s, but it was replaced by "Scotland the Brave" and subsequently "Flower of Scotland", due to consistent booing at matches. This issue recurred when Scotland played Liechtenstein in September 2010, as their national anthem uses the same tune as the British anthem. SFA acting chief executive George Peat publicly apologised for a section of the fans jeering the anthem. The British anthem was again booed by Scotland fans when the team played Northern Ireland in the 2011 Nations Cup, and England in a September 2023 friendly.
The Tartan Army has been a consistent opponent of the concept of a Great Britain team, particularly its participation in the 2012 Olympic Games, due to concerns that such participation would endanger the separate status of Scotland within international football.
In 2013, an estimated 25,000 Tartan Army supporters travelled to London for Scotland's first match against England at Wembley in 14 years. Fans gathered in Trafalgar Square, notably filling the fountains with washing up liquid. Similar scenes were seen again in London during Scotland's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against England.
UEFA Euro 2020 and 2024
Scotland qualified for UEFA Euro 2020, their first major finals since the 1998 World Cup. The tournament was spread around Europe, meaning that two of three group stage games were played at Hampden Park, but over 20,000 Scotland fans travelled to London for the game against England. This was despite Scotland only being allocated 2,600 tickets, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
During UEFA Euro 2024, the Tartan Army attracted praise for the scale and atmosphere of its support across Germany. Up to 200,000 supporters were estimated to travel to the tournament, many without match tickets. Euro 2024 was particularly significant for a generation of supporters who had grown up without experiencing Scotland at a major tournament abroad. Ahead of Scotland's opening match against hosts Germany in Munich, supporters filled Marienplatz with kilts, flags, songs and bagpipes, with chants of "No Scotland, No Party" and "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" becoming a familiar soundtrack. Similar scenes followed in Cologne, where an estimated 30,000 joined a fan march to the stadium from before Scotland's match against Switzerland, and in Stuttgart for the final group match against Hungary. The city of Cologne went as far as to set up its own Tartan Army faction after the tournament. Despite Scotland's early elimination, the Tartan Army received widespread recognition for its passion, behaviour and positive impact on host communities. VisitScotland data later highlighted a tourism boost from Germany in 2024, with Germany becoming Scotland’s second-largest overseas market after the United States,, while an RTL poll named the Tartan Army the tournament’s best supporters with more than half of the vote.
2026 World Cup
During the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico—the Scotland men's national team's first World Cup appearance since 1998—the Tartan Army became a prominent feature of the Boston area, where Scotland played its opening two group-stage matches. Despite the high costs of travel and ticket prices, an estimated 50,000 Scotland supporters visited the region during the tournament. Reports highlighted bagpipe-led marches, the placing of traffic cones on statues, boat parties in Boston Harbor, street celebrations and viral social media videos featuring supporters alongside local residents, businesses and police officers. Several flights carrying Scotland supporters reportedly exhausted their onboard beer supplies before arriving in the United States.
The vast majority of the 64,146 spectators at Scotland's opening match against Haiti were Scottish supporters, in what was reported to be one of the largest overseas gatherings of the Tartan Army on record. During the singing of "Flower of Scotland" before kick-off, a sound level of 125 decibels was recorded at Gillette Stadium, the highest ever measured at a World Cup match at the time. The next day, the Boston Red Sox hosted a Scottish Celebration Night against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. An estimated 5,000 supporters marched through Boston to the stadium behind a procession of bagpipers. The Red Sox marked the occasion with Scotland-themed festivities, including special jerseys inspired by Scotland's national team kit, team mascot Wally the Green Monster wearing a kilt and Scottish music performed by the stadium organist. Players, coaches and commentators praised the atmosphere, with some comparing it to that of a Major League Baseball postseason game.
The influx of supporters generated significant economic activity for Boston and neighbouring communities. Bars, restaurants and hotels reported record levels of business, with the Samuel Adams Boston Taproom stating that supporters consumed four times the volume of Boston Lager typically sold during a major holiday weekend. Other establishments reported sales exceeding levels normally associated with events such as the Super Bowl and St Patrick's Day, while Scottish and Irish-themed venues across New England became focal points for supporters during the tournament. Several bars, pubs and liquor stores temporarily ran out of beer as demand exceeded expectations. The Tartan Army also received praise from residents, businesses, city officials and law enforcement for its conduct and community spirit. Supporters were commended for cleaning public areas after celebrations and for fostering positive relations with local communities, with local media describing them as having won over Bostonians. The Tartan Army's reputation received wider recognition, with outlets including Sports Illustrated and SB Nation highlighting the supporters as one of the standout fan groups of the tournament. Following Scotland's two group matches in Boston, the city's largest newspaper, The Boston Globe, published a full-page tribute to the Tartan Army, thanking supporters for the atmosphere they brought to the city and describing their visit as "something we'll be talking about for years".