St John Alumni’s Pipe Band playing ‘We’ll be Coming Down the Road’. — Photos: LOW BOON TAT/The Star
A GROUP of about 30 Scottish fans showed their love for the Scotland football team with a parade in the centre of Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of Saturday.
This was in conjunction with the opening game of the European Championship (UEFA Euro) 2024, where Scotland went up against Germany, the host country.
Event co-organiser and “diehard Scottish fan” Andy Paterson said the parade was held to emulate the bustling football match day atmosphere in Munich, Germany.
“This is Scotland’s first major tournament outside the United Kingdom since 1998.
“About 200,000 Scottish fans have gone to Munich to show their love for the team.
“We wish to create a similar atmosphere here in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Co-organiser Alistair Sim said it was “absolutely buzzing” to march together with Scottish fans residing in Kuala Lumpur.
“If you can’t be in Germany, then where else is better to be with your fellow countrymen and women than Kuala Lumpur? As we say, ‘no Scotland, no party!’” added Sim.
The parade began at about 1am and covered a distance of about 500m from Jalan Raja Chulan to Changkat Bukit Bintang.
Leading the parade, local band St John Alumni’s Pipe Band played We’ll be Coming Down the Road, the iconic song of the Tartan Army which is a moniker to describe supporters of Scotland’s national football team.
Fans, many of whom wore kilts and football jerseys, walked behind them in high spirits.
The atmosphere at the restaurant of their destination was lively as fans cheered excitedly while watching a live screening of the game.
Unfortunately, the match ended with Scotland losing 1-5 to Germany. Scotland will face Switzerland on June 20.
Despite being disappointed by the result, Paterson still described the parade as “amazing”.
“We will still show our support to Scotland through events like this whenever the country participates in any major international tournaments in the future,” he added.