Scottish football fans have transformed several Major League Baseball games into celebrations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

This unusual crossover of sporting cultures highlights the massive scale of fan migration across the U.S. as supporters follow their national teams through different host cities.

Known as the Tartan Army, the Scottish supporters attended games at Fenway Park in Boston and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. In Miami, the fans converged on a game between the Miami Marlins and the Texas Rangers [1]. An estimated 10,000 Scottish fans attended the Miami matchup [2], effectively taking over the venue to maintain their celebratory momentum.

The presence of the fans in New York coincided with a six-day break between Scotland's World Cup fixtures [3]. This window allowed the group to organize a trip to Yankee Stadium, where they celebrated a Group C victory over Haiti [4].

Supporters used the baseball venues as social gathering points while their team competed in the tournament. The events in Boston and Miami followed a similar pattern, where the traditional atmosphere of MLB parks was replaced by the chants and colors of the Scottish national team [1], [5].

While some reports mentioned other international groups, the most documented takeovers involved the Tartan Army. The fans utilized the proximity of these stadiums to their World Cup host cities to create makeshift fan zones during the tournament's progression [5], [6].

“The Tartan Army turned MLB games in Boston, Miami, and New York into celebrations.”

The intersection of the FIFA World Cup and Major League Baseball demonstrates the logistical challenges and opportunities of hosting a multi-city global tournament. By utilizing existing sports infrastructure for non-sporting celebrations, the Tartan Army created an organic, cross-sport fan experience that amplified the tournament's visibility in U.S. cities beyond the actual soccer stadiums.