THEIR team may not have achieved the results they wanted but the Tartan Army have once more left their mark on a major tournament.
Numbers estimated in the hundreds of thousands travelled to Germany to support Scotland at Euro 2024, with their sportsmanship and eagerness to embrace and enjoy themselves going down a hit with the locals.
They watched their side open the competition, against the hosts in Munich, 26 years on from when the Scots played in the first match of the World Cup.
In 1998, huge numbers of fans travelled to France, where Scotland kicked off the tournament in a memorable match with Brazil, and were joined by an iconic open top bus - which is set to take up residence, and return to the road, at a West Fife museum.
Decked out in tartan paint, the Stagecoach bus - which had been more used to taking tourists for a tour around Perth - was fitted out to make the long journey to follow Scotland in Paris, as well as Bordeaux and Saint Etienne, where they played Norway and Morocco in the latter two cities.
While memories of John Collins equalising against Brazil, who were holders of the World Cup, before Scotland fell to an agonising 2-1 loss will long in the memory, the Tartan Army bus returned home after the team were knocked out in the group stage, a fate which also befell the class of 2024.
It has spent most of the last 26 years in storage but, earlier this year, volunteers at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum at Lathalmond, near Dunfermline, approached Stagecoach about taking ownership, with a long-term view to returning it to the road.
After assessment, Stagecoach have now transferred ownership of the bus to the museum, with work soon commencing to return it to service, whilst keeping its famous tartan paintwork.
David Heathcote, chairman of the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, commented: "The Tartan Army bus will be a fantastic addition to our own collection.
"Everyone loves an open top bus so we’re busy planning to get it back on the road for our visitors to enjoy. We are very grateful for Stagecoach’s assistance with this project."
Douglas Robertson, managing director of Stagecoach East Scotland, added: "It is great for us to support the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum and their activities to commemorate the last century of Scotland’s buses.
"There couldn’t be a better time to donate the Tartan Army bus to the museum and we can’t wait to see it back on the road again."
Home to over 100 historic buses dating back to the 1920s up until the early 2000s, the museum is open for visitors each Sunday during the summer through until early October.
They will also hold a Grand Open Weekend in August, allowing visitors to see buses being restored back to their former glory, and ride out on some of the active collection.
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