To prepare for their first World Cup since 1998, Scotland has turned to Charlotte FC facilities. The local club's facilities have been decorated with the Scotland badge and colors. Charlotte FC officials hope Scotland’s arrival — the boys in blue — will help attract more fans across the state to the local club and grow soccer in the city.
Scotland players were divided into small groups on a recent morning at Charlotte FC’s training pitch in east Charlotte, where they were preparing to juggle a ball into a basket near a cone.
A coach called out instructions, telling players everyone must touch the ball before placing it into the net with a one-touch finish. Some players jokingly accused teammates of using their hands during the warmup exercise.
It has been nearly 30 years since Scotland last appeared in a World Cup tournament. The team’s most recent appearance came in France in 1998.
Mark Leslie, the team’s sports science and data manager, said finding the right training base was a priority. The search stretched across multiple cities before landing in Charlotte.
“We covered up in New York, down in Miami,” Leslie said,” It was quite a strenuous process, to be honest.”
Leslie said Charlotte stood out for its weather and the quality of its fields. The city’s pace has also given players space to unwind between training sessions.
“Charlotte is obviously a city, but it’s not heavily populated like the likes of New York,” he said. “So you do get a bit of free time, relax time. The players have really enjoyed going around the coffee shops. The people have been super friendly.”
Woody Wilder, Charlotte FC’s director of communications, said they turned to the club's connections to help bring Scotland to Charlotte.
“Gary Dicker, our assistant coach, played for Steve Clarke, their head coach,” Wilder said. "So, yeah, so there's some natural connections there. And once everyone came over for a visit, it kind of fit like a glove.”
Hosting a World Cup team requires approval from FIFA — the sport’s global governing body — something Charlotte secured in part because of its track record. The club’s training facility has hosted global soccer clubs and national teams.
“We have a very good relationship with FIFA,” Wilder said. “Our training centers hosted Real Madrid in the past, and the Ghana national team and Inter Milan, some of the biggest clubs and national teams in the world. And so, we knew that [Charlotte] had the right facility for these big international teams.”
Wilder says seeing the Scottish players train here is inspiring.
“Some of our players are playing for the youth national teams, playing for the U.S., playing for other countries and it just shows that one day, they can be here,” Wilder said.
Charlotte FC general manager Zoran Krneta said that hosting the elite sides, or teams, shows the state’s growing reputation in the sport.
“It’s great for the club, it’s great for the city, it’s great for North Carolina to have the Scottish national team here promoting soccer,” Krneta said.
Other teams have also chosen North Carolina as a base. Four-time World Cup champions Germany are in Winston-Salem. Norway, also making its first World Cup appearance since 1998, is based in Greensboro.
“It just shows that North Carolina is a hotbed of soccer in the USA,” Krneta said. “People like the facilities, the polite people, what North Carolina can offer weather-wise and hospitality-wise.”
During his tenure, Krneta has helped bring European talent to Charlotte FC, including former Premier League players Wilfried Zaha, Ashley Westwood and Christian Fuchs, winner of the Premier League — the highest division in English soccer.
Krneta hopes the presence of international teams will boost interest in Charlotte FC.
“Hopefully we’ll see more fans at our games and more support,” he said. “The fans are super, super important for that.”
Although Scotland is based in Charlotte, the team’s matches are being played elsewhere, drawing fans together for watch parties across the area. At a gathering in Matthews Social House, fans cheered in support of the team as they followed along from afar.
Among them was Daniel Steven, who was dressed in a dark blue kilt to celebrate his Scottish roots.
“Every time you put a kilt on, you should feel some national pride,” Steven said. “I’d have it on and have pride with it regardless if people knew I was Scottish or not, but it’s nice for other people to kind of tip their hat to you.”
Steven, who was born just outside Glasgow, said the team’s return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 is special, but the response from the community has been even more meaningful.
“The sporting achievement is insane; it’s amazing,” Steven said. “But it’s even better to see how everybody has actually received the Scottish fans and how we’re being portrayed. That’s probably a bigger sense of achievement.”
Scotland’s next match is against Brazil in Miami on Wednesday night, where the team will look to secure enough points to advance to the next round of the World Cup tournament.
