By Callum Fraser 
Scotland have not always given their supporters much to cheer, but the supporters have become famous anyway. The Tartan Army, as Scotland’s travelling fans are known, has a reputation that reaches well beyond football: for turning up in enormous numbers, for good humour in the face of defeat, and for leaving the places they visit fonder of Scotland than before they arrived.
It is one of the more unusual things in international football, and it did not happen by accident.
What is the Tartan Army?
The collective name for Scotland’s travelling supporters, particularly those who follow the national team abroad.
The name describes a loose, leaderless movement rather than an organisation. It has no membership in the formal sense, though various supporters’ groups exist within it. What binds it is a shared way of following the team: travelling in large numbers, wearing kilts and tartan, and approaching away trips as much as a cultural expedition as a football match.
The Tartan Army has become part of Scotland’s image abroad, and the supporters are conscious of that role.
How did it get its reputation?
Through a deliberate change in how Scotland’s fans behaved, decades ago.
Scottish football support was not always known for good humour. There were periods of trouble, as there were across British football. The shift came partly as a conscious reaction, with supporters choosing to define themselves against the hostility associated with some other travelling fans, and partly through the long experience of following a team that rarely won, which bred a culture of enjoying the trip regardless of the result.
Over time, the good-natured approach became the Tartan Army’s identity, reinforced by awards and goodwill from the cities they visited. The reputation then became self-sustaining, as supporters lived up to what was expected of them.
How did the charity side begin?
Gradually, and it became central to the identity.
Scottish supporters began raising money for causes in the cities they visited, and over time it grew into an organised and expected part of following the team abroad. Supporters’ groups now coordinate it, and the sums raised across a tournament can be considerable. It serves two purposes: it does genuine good, and it reinforces the welcome the Tartan Army receives, which in turn sustains the good behaviour that defines the support.
It is a rare example of a football support being known for something other than football, and the fans are rightly proud of it.
Why do they travel in such numbers?
Because the away trip became the point, not just the match.
For supporters of a team that qualified for tournaments rarely, each campaign became precious, and the trips to follow it took on an importance beyond the football. A Scotland away match in a European city is treated as an event in itself, worth travelling for whatever the likely result. That attitude produces turnouts that often dwarf what the team’s record alone would suggest.
The culture of the kilt and the tartan also makes the support visible and collective in a way that reinforces itself. Travelling as part of a recognisable group is part of the appeal.
Why does the good humour survive defeat?
Because the trip was never only about winning.
A support built around following a team that rarely won learned to find the value of the journey in the journey itself: the travel, the company, the city, the occasion. That outlook means a defeat, however painful, does not ruin the trip, and the songs continue after the final whistle regardless of the score. It is a healthier way to follow a team than one that depends on winning, and it is part of why the Tartan Army has lasted.
What makes it different from club support?
The absence of rivalry at the point of travelling.
At club level, Scottish football is divided, sometimes bitterly. Following the national team sets that aside. Supporters of rival clubs travel together in the Tartan Army, united by the shirt, and the domestic divisions that define club football are deliberately left at home. That shared purpose, cutting across club loyalties, gives the national support a different character from any club’s.
It is not that the divisions disappear entirely, but the Tartan Army works hard to keep them out of the way, and largely succeeds.
Has the recent success changed things?
It has given the support more to do, and more occasions to be what it is.
Scotland’s long absence from major tournaments meant the Tartan Army often travelled to qualifiers and friendlies rather than finals. The recent return to tournaments has given the support the stage it was built for, and the numbers travelling to those finals have shown the culture is as strong as ever. A support that kept its spirit through the lean years has been rewarded with the occasions it always turned up for anyway.
What do host cities make of it?
They tend to remember it fondly, which is unusual for travelling football support.
The Tartan Army’s reputation for good behaviour and charitable giving means host cities often welcome Scottish supporters rather than bracing for them, and awards and civic recognition have followed Scotland’s fans around various tournaments. That reception is part of what sustains the culture, since supporters live up to what is expected of them, and being treated as guests rather than a threat reinforces the behaviour that earned it.
It is a reputation built deliberately over decades, and the supporters guard it, because it is one of the things that makes following Scotland distinctive.
Has it changed over the years?
It has grown more organised while keeping its informal spirit.
Supporters’ groups now coordinate travel, raise money for charity in the places they visit, and manage the Tartan Army’s public image. The charitable giving in particular has become a notable feature, with Scottish supporters regularly raising funds for good causes in host cities. That has strengthened the reputation further.
What has not changed is the core attitude: travel in numbers, enjoy the trip, behave well, and support the team whatever the score. Scotland’s recent return to tournaments has given the Tartan Army more occasions to do exactly that.
Our piece on England versus Scotland, the oldest fixture in international football covers the matches that first gave Scottish supporters a reason to travel.
For all the results over the years, the support has often been the best thing about following Scotland, and the Tartan Army is one of the few parts of the national team’s story that has never had a lean spell.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Tartan Army?
The collective name for Scotland’s travelling football supporters, known for following the national team abroad in large numbers, wearing tartan, and for their good humour.
Why is the Tartan Army so well regarded?
Through a long culture of good behaviour, charitable giving in host cities, and enjoying away trips regardless of results, which built a reputation that became self-sustaining.
Do rival club supporters travel together in the Tartan Army?
Yes. Supporters of rival Scottish clubs deliberately set aside domestic rivalries to follow the national team together, which gives the support a different character from club football.