Scotland's World Cup campaign could boost the country's coffers thanks to the affable nature of the Tartan Army, a leading sports expert has said

By CLAIRE ELLIOT, SCOTTISH GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:56, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 20:56, 9 June 2026 They have gained a reputation for being the best football fans in the world and are welcomed wherever they go. Now, as the Tartan Army descends on America for Scotland’s first World Cup since 1998, an academic has said the supporters’ affable nature brings a huge economic benefit back home. Professor Grant Jarvie, of the University of Edinburgh, said the fans help promote Scotland in a way that ‘not many marketing campaigns could manufacture’. He said Scottish tourism could receive a major transatlantic boost that replicated the surge in visitors from Germany on the back of Scotland’s involvement in the Euros there two years ago. Edinburgh alone was said to have seen a ‘156 per cent’ rise in German visitors, with many ‘attributing this to the friendship forged by the Tartan Army’. Professor Jarvie said: ‘Scotland has an international reputation. It has one of the most warmly received bunch of fans who are regularly involved in charitable giving. ‘If you take just the diplomatic value of the Tartan Army, it isn’t incidental, as thousands of Scots arrive in Miami and Boston dressed differently, singing loudly and quietly donating to local children’s hospitals as they have in the past. ‘They’re projecting a version of Scotland that’s generous, self-deprecating and outward looking and there’s not many marketing campaigns that could manufacture that.’ The professor conceded that football was not the top sport in the United States but he said it was ‘fast catching on’ and he hoped to see Scotland reap similar benefits to those it did after 200,000 fans partied on the streets in Germany in 2024. Scotland fans help promote the country in a way that ‘not many marketing campaigns could manufacture’ Scotland fans made a positive impact on their visits to the likes of Cologne in 2024 He said the Tartan Army had ‘grasped the opportunity to change the narrative’ when supporters elsewhere across Britain and Europe were not behaving. ‘It is a significant software asset for Scotland and that is precious and needs to be looked after and the fans themselves do that,’ Professor Jarvie added. Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, also previously said the World Cup was a ‘massive opportunity’ to showcase Scotland across the globe. The last time the national team qualified for the finals was in France in 1998 when they failed to make it past the group stages. Professor Jarvie, who is the university’s chair in sport and founding director of the Academy of Sport, said the ‘emotion of qualification’ after a 28-year wait was a ‘landmark moment itself’. But while there were ‘good grounds for optimism that Scotland can go further than they’ve gone before’ in the world’s top football tournament, he said ‘let’s just take it one step at a time’. He added: ‘Whatever the result, football remains socially, culturally and economically important to Scotland.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.