Tartan Army follower on World Cup ‘pilgrimage’ in honour of late brother

A Tartan Army follower has travelled to the World Cup to celebrate the life of his late brother, who died almost a year to the day of Scotland’s clash with Brazil.

Fife councillor Gary Holt’s brother Greg died aged 45 on June 23 2025, with the Brazil match taking place a day after the anniversary.

Mr Holt has travelled to the US with his elderly mother to enjoy the World Cup, but mainly to pay homage to Greg.

The 40-year-old said his brother, who died of natural causes, was a “party animal” who loved football.

Mr Holt said: “It’s a really significant event for us, it’s almost a year to the day my brother died, so part of this is a pilgrimage to him.

“We wanted to honour his death by actually doing all the stuff he would love doing, so that’s why we’re at the World Cup.

“So it’s extra special.

“We get to be here, celebrating Scotland, but we also get to celebrate my brother at the same time, because he would have 100% been here to celebrate the World Cup with us.”

The journey for the two, Mr Holt said, has been emotional, but also happy due to the World Cup atmosphere and being able to see his nation compete in the tournament for the first time in 28 years.

“It’s been emotional at points,” he said.

“But I also think it’s been a bit of a relief, when you’re surrounded by so many people, it’s been joyous.

“I wouldn’t say my mum’s a big football fan, but she supports Scotland.

“I think it’s a little bit more personal for her because of my brother, but I think it’s very important for her to be here to relive what my brother was like through the thousands of other fans on the streets.

“You get to see a little bit of what my brother was like, especially with the partying going on, because he was a bit of a party animal.”

Asked what his brother would say if he could see the nation competing in the World Cup, Mr Holt said: “I think he would say, get on with it.

“Live life in the moment.

“You don’t know when things are going to end, and you’ve just got to take it and live life in the moment, and realise that you can’t make memories every day like this.

“You can’t have a World Cup every week, and you can always go and make more money, so money is no object when you come here and I think you’ll get that from the Scotland fans, seeing young kids out here with their mums and dads, making the memory of a lifetime, and grandkids, and their grandkids, will hear about the story of what happened in Boston.”