Paul O’Hare and Laura HuttonBBC Scotland
Diane Lees
Diane and Jim Lees plan to attend Scotland’s second World Cup match against Morocco
Scotland fans have been scrambling to book flights, hotels and transfers since being drawn to play World Cup games in Boston and Miami next summer.
The men’s team will face Haiti, Morocco and five-time champions Brazil when they make their first appearance in the tournament in 28 years.
Tartan Army foot soldiers have already shelled out thousands for travel arrangements and are now turning their attention to match tickets ahead of the application window opening.
Diane Lees, who is travelling to the US with her husband and teenage daughter, told BBC Scotland News: “We know it’s a lot of money – but when are we going to have this chance again?”
World Cup tickets system
Scotland qualified for the finals last month after a thrilling 4-2 Hampden victory over Denmark.
In France 1998, the national side, managed by the late Craig Brown, was also drawn against the then defending champions Brazil and Morocco.
The 2026 edition will feature 48 teams and be played from 11 June to 19 July in 16 cities across the US, Canada and Mexico.
PA Media
Scotland will join 47 other teams competing for the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico
The Scottish Football Association has said members of the Scotland Supporter Club (SSC) – which operates a loyalty points system – will be given priority for match tickets.
The Fifa application window runs from 11 December to 13 January.
On Monday, SSC members will be sent an access code to apply for Scotland’s three group stage matches and potential knock-out matches.
For each match that is oversubscribed, a ballot using the loyalty points system will be used to determine who is successful in receiving their chosen category ticket.
Successful applicants will be notified in February.
Diane Lees
Diane and Jim will travel to the World Cup with their 19-year-old daughter Chloe
Diane, 55, and Jim, 58, will travel to the US with 19-year-old daughter, Chloe, who has never been to a Scotland away match.
Diane, of Holytown, North Lanarkshire, is still on a high after the Denmark game and started looking at travel arrangements that night.
The mother-of-three said: “I have never experienced anything like that in my life.
“I was bawling my eyes out.”
The project co-ordinator hoped to be based in New York or Toronto but solidified her plans after Friday’s showpiece draw in Washington DC.
She paid £1,900 for three return flights to New York, with the family travelling to the US on 16 June and returning on 21 June.
They have also booked five nights in a Manhattan hotel for £1,200.
And they have reserved one nights’ accommodation in Providence, Rhode Island, which is about 50 miles from Boston, for £350.
They intend to stay there after the 19 June match against 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco.
Diane said: “You have to become your own travel agent but I don’t yet know how we are going to get back to New York.”
The grandmother said New York to Boston train prices had soared for dates during the tournament.
Buses will be a popular option but some journey times range from four hours to eight hours.
Supporters seeking a base in Boston will need deep pockets with some hotels quoting £3,200 for a five-night stay.
On Tartan Army chat forums – where one supporter priced a trip at £7,000 – fans have floated the idea of hiring a coach and a driver to ferry fans from New York to Boston in a bid to keep costs to a minimum.
Diane has 11 SSC points and her husband Jim has 14 so they hope to secure match tickets through the ballot.
But daughter Chloe has never been to a Scotland away match and won’t be guaranteed a ticket.
Diane said: “It will be absolutely magical. I just hope we get a good World Cup song.
“Perhaps we could get the Proclaimers to re-write Letter to America?”
Rachael Vaughan
Rachael and partner Aaron, from Falkirk, met on a Scotland trip to Poland
Rachael Vaughan is also making the transatlantic trip a family affair and has booked flights with her father, Edward, and boyfriend, Aaron Fish.
She told BBC Scotland: “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Rachael, who lives in Manchester, said her father’s last World Cup trip left her mother “livid” as he missed her first birthday party.
She was brought up in England but fell in love with Scotland after watching the national side lose to Wales in Cardiff in 2009.
The 28-year-old said: “It was the atmosphere. Everyone was so friendly.
“I was worried that I had an English accent and would not be accepted but people looked out for me.”
Since then her Tartan Army credits include Euro 2020 and trips including San Marino, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Portugal and Liechtenstein.
Flights and hotels booked
Ahead of last month’s match against Denmark she was confident but the manner in which Scotland qualified left her stunned.
“I can’t even put it into words,” she added.
In the days that followed, she pre-booked more than 20 hotels.
After Friday’s draw she secured three 11 June flights from London Heathrow to New York JFK, which cost £500 each.
Like many fans she hopes to travel to Boston via bus for the opening match against Haiti on 13 June.
The Everton FC account executive then booked an internal return flight from Boston to Miami – where Scotland play Brazil on 24 June – for £350.
Finally, she paid £550 for flights from Boston to Manchester on 25 June.
Rachael Vaughan
Rachael with Scotland players Ben Gannon-Doak (left) and Lennon Miller
Rachael, who has a healthy SSC points balance of 24, hopes to attend all three of Scotland’s group matches.
She has pre-booked a hotel in Times Square with Aaron, 24, for £2,200 from 11-17 June.
The couple, who met on a Scotland away trip to Poland, have also reserved a hotel in Boston from 12-20 June for £2,500.
They plan to cancel some of the Boston dates if the supporters’ bus from New York goes ahead.
Finally, they have pre-booked a hotel in Miami from 21-25 June for £700.
Her father is planning to make his own accommodation arrangements.
“I feel some people will be put off by the prices but it will be incredible,” she said.
“I have taken so many years of stick from friends and, six or seven years ago, I would not have dreamt we would be in this position.
“When Scotland qualified for the World Cup I knew we had to be there.”
