The Scotland Red Sox and a FIFA World Cup With Baseball Accompaniment
Scotland fans have featured heavily in the coverage of the Red Sox this week, and relatively cheap tickets make the sport more accessible than the World Cup itself across the USA.
Scotland fans in Boston always had potential.
The Tartan Army’s opening two games at the 2026 World Cup, against Haiti and Morocco, were lined up for the stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is around 30 miles away from Boston itself (not much further than the distance from the edge of Glasgow to the edge of Edinburgh).
But the spirit of this particular hosting region is Boston, and it’s a spirit rooted in a history of Celtic immigrants that is a perfect fit for the traveling Scotland fans.
During their stay, those fans have been able to experience a historic sports stadium in the city of Boston itself, lining up trips to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. It’s a team that itself has links to [association] football, as its owner, Fenway Sports Group, also owns Liverpool FC.
The Major League Baseball season continues throughout the FIFA World Cup and could become a feature of more of the host cities/regions as the tournament unfolds, but Scotland fans and Fenway Park were always going to be the first and most noticeable example.
Baseball, with its almost daily fixtures, is one of the most accessible of the big American sports leagues.
The cheapest tickets for standard regular-season games are usually priced at around $50, which also makes attending baseball matches a bargain compared to the exploitative cost of World Cup tickets.
If any fans are in the host cities just for the experience and can’t manage to get to a game at one of the World Cup venues, a trip to the ball game is a good way to get involved in live sport at this time of year.
Scotland’s presence at Fenway Park is likely to continue this week as the Red Sox host the Toronto Blue Jays. As more fans catch on ahead of their World Cup game against Morocco on Friday, there could be an increased presence.
This will be one of many examples from across the United States of baseball stadiums welcoming World Cup fans.
If there are no major league games in town, there are also the usually more quirky minor league stadiums to attend, and the tickets for those are even cheaper still, often priced from ~$10 upwards.
If you’re in the New York area for games at the Meadowlands, especially if you are based in Brooklyn, I would recommend taking the subway trip down to Coney Island to watch the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Cyclones are a High-A affiliate of the New York Mets, and are in action every day from the 23rd to the 28th of June, and also have several games in July ahead of the World Cup final.
Their stadium, Maimonides Park, is located beside the boardwalk, beach, and seaside activities that will really be getting going as the weather heats up and the middle of summer approaches.
Maimonides Park is also the home of USL Championship side Brooklyn FC - a new professional soccer team in New York City who are playing their inaugural season this year.
Brooklyn FC face one of the more familiar names in American soccer, Tampa Bay Rowdies, the former team of Joe Cole and Sam Allardyce, on Saturday, the 20th of June, as the USL season overlaps with the World Cup.
Scotland in Boston was always going to be a good match, and their embracing of the Red Sox and baseball’s embracing of them in return has been one of the feel-good stories as this World Cup kicked off in North America.
Cultures are combining, and each has welcomed the other to produce a wholesome outcome. It will be no surprise to see similar scenes repeated across the US as baseball runs alongside the World Cup and offers an accessible pastime for visiting fans.
Scotland have a big game against Morocco on Friday, but before then, many members of the Tartan Army will be getting behind the Red Sox against the Blue Jays on Wednesday and Thursday.