Ahead of the Netherlands match, we were in Germany taking part in site visits to Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich. This was funded by UEFA/Euro2024, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and KOS (Germans Fan Project). The organisers were keen that these visits should have representatives to cover all aspects of engagement from a fan and national association point of view. To achieve this we coordinated the visits alongside the Scottish National Team SLO and SFA Security rep.

The visits were carried out over three consecutive days and followed a similar format across the cities.  We experienced what many Scotland fans will encounter when they are travelling between and within the host cities this summer using public transport (we even managed to experience a cancelled train journey!). The morning sessions were led by the host city organisers where we visited Fan Zones, Fan Meeting Points, Public Viewing areas, Fans Embassies, Fan Welcome sites and other points of interest. Reps from the host city were joined by various other stakeholders including local tourist board, local police, mobility experts, a rep from the UK embassy (in Munich only), and the local KOS representative. We were then handed over to the Stadium Operations teams to discuss safety, security, entrance and egress at the stadium.  We saw the entrances the Scotland fans will use and the section within the stadium where our 10,000 fans will be located.

After returning from the match in the Netherlands, the notes below have been pulled together. In conjunction with the SFA we will be presenting more detailed findings at a meeting of Tartan Army groups at our next meeting in May.  If your group would like to send a rep then please contact us at info@associationoftartanarmyclubs.com  

These notes were correct at the time of publication, and based on our experiences as part of the site visits. Some decisions are still TBC at the time of writing and may be tweaked or changed as the tournament gets nearer, and we continue to be in dialogue with the host city teams.  We urge supporters to refer to the official Euro 2024 comms channels for up to date information.

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COLOGNE

STUTTGART

MUNICH

The ATAC Chair and Vice-Chair attended a meeting with a two FCDO staff today about Consular Communications ahead of this year’s Euros.  Present were the Euros Liaison Officer at the Berlin Embassy who is assigned to Scotland’s Euro messaging, and the Consul to Ukraine who is assisting with the Scotland Consular communications for Euro 2024.

There are three main pillars to the Consular messaging.

1 – Signing up for FCDO travel advice and alerts

2 – Keeping belongings such as passport, phone etc safe during the tournament

3 – Respecting local laws and customs

The first covers items such as terror alerts, current advice all the way to mass casualty events.  We explained that signing up to these is usually a reactive behaviour, in that advice on these pages would be sought if/when something happens rather than in advance.

The second pillar is common sense and the TA has various members with a history of being serial passport losers.  We are aware that there will be on the ground help from UEFA/Euro 2024 in the event of ticket holders losing phones and will look to see that advice when it is available.

We have already covered some of the local laws and customs in our notes from the Frankfurt Fans Forum that we attended in January.  It is covered in the NFIP section from Day 1.  We will reiterate these messages over the coming months.

In addition to the active and loyal fanbase that ATAC represents we are aware that there will be many fans travelling that may not have been abroad to follow Scotland before.  Our communication channels may struggle to reach these people and this could possibly also be the case for any SFA/SSC and Consular messaging.  We have agreed to assist in pushing out important Consular messaging where we can.  The Consul staff will look to also engage the SFA and to put messaging in the media.  These can be done via match programmes, radio and TV programmes, alongside podcasts and similar digital routes.

We touched on routes that fans are taking and also where Scotland fans are likely to be based.  Currently there is no particular route or method that stands above any others.  The TA will be travelling over air, land and sea.  The superb public transport in Germany also means that fans can base themselves outwith the host cities and travel in and out for the matches.  The 36 hour free travel pass for ticket holders makes that particularly appealing.

Further meetings will be scheduled when required.



*Materials published on this website and in this article, and any attachments and documents is the copyright of the Association of Tartan Army Clubs, and may not be quoted or reproduced without prior permission

At the tail end of January, ATAC Chair & Vice Chair – Martin Riddell & Graeme Baxter – attended the UEFA Euro 2024 Fans Forum in Frankfurt, as we look forward to Scotland taking on Europe at this summer’s tournament.

The event brought together tournament organisers Euro2024 Gmbh, UEFA, and the 10 Host City organising teams, with National FAs, NFIP, German Ministry, Football Supporters Europe (FSE), Coordination Centre Fan Projects (KOS) and Supporters Representatives. This forms part of the engagement strand of Germanys Euro 2024 bid to deliver an unforgettable, safe, and enjoyable experience for fans at this summers tournament.

The three day event covered a range of presentations, discussions, and Q&A sessions on a wide range of the tournament plans, including Host City / Fan activations, Fan zones, fan walks, along with wider tournament aspects of safety & security, mobility, ticketing, comms, sustainability. etc. Our opportunity to meet One on One with the individual Host City teams were particularly valuable. It also gave us the opportunity to network with other supporters groups from around Europe.

you can read more about the event here – https://www.uefa.com/news/028a-1a138942be65-eeb9904b50a5-1000–euro-2024-fan-forum-united-by-football/

We’ve condensed the mountain of information we received down into some notes in the below document to share amongst ATAC members and fellow Scotland fans.

Should you have any follow up or questions, feel free to get in touch with us.

*Materials published on this website and in this article, and any attachments and documents is the copyright of the Association of Tartan Army Clubs, and may not be quoted or reproduced without prior permission