BILLY BREMNER MEMORIAL JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN
Date: 19th February 2025
Who has the oldest, the best, the more original, the most different football scarf in Scotland? Or do you have other, original, knitted football items from your childhood that need their 15 minutes of fame?
This is an idea we had back at SFSA Towers: based on the fact that we ‘employ’ (no-one gets paid, we’re all volunteers) people aged from their late teens to over 70. We’re all football fans of various teams: some of us have been in senior positions at major and minor clubs, others have played to a high level, others still play, but we’re all united by a love for the beautiful game.
To give you an idea of what we’re looking for (and it doesn’t have to be as long as this), here are my recollections of my first football scarf…
I remember the day I got my first Caley scarf like it was yesterday even though it was back in the mid ‘60s. I was going to see my team for the first time as part of a pal’s birthday treat and had never been to Telford Street before.
My dad had a wee electrical shop in Inverness‘s New Market Hall and next door to him was Treasurers the barbers and next to them Johnston’s Clothing.
So first a short back and sides from Billy Treasurer then my dad took me to see Mr Johnston himself. And there was a choice too. Polyester or woollen. I picked the blue polyester with ‘Caledonian’ and silver lines printed on it rather than the blue and white option that I thought looked home knitted.
My scarf and I saw many great games and into and right through my teenage years I wore it as a cravat, everywhere. I was stylish even back then, not.
I didn’t take it with me when I went to uni and while I was away my mum lent it to a friend’s son for his first Caley match. It was one of those kind of loans that somehow became permanent but at least it was seeing football again.
Looking back I felt proud wearing it and it was classier than all the options since, although I do feel close to the club and smile when I wear my Scottish Cup Final scarf. I don’t think that will happen again for a while.
Finn, one of our brilliant student volunteers, will be publishing photos and descriptions of some of our other scarves over the next few weeks. And we want you, the fans, to do the same. Please share a photo of your scarf with a few words about it (great games, funny stories, etc.) on our social media channels (TikTok, Facebook and X). No prizes, but we’ll feature the best – and hopefully the oldest – football scarves in Scotland on our website in due course, along with a wee mention for its owner!
Please send a picture of your scarf (or other item) and any story about it to media@scottishfsa.org NOTE: sending us means you give the SFSA permission to publish the story and picture on our website and/or social media.
Andy Smith, Chair, SFSA
Posted in: Latest News
Tags: football scarf, Scottish football