Inaugural Copa Del Westa Champions Crowned

On Friday 25th July, a legion from the West of Scotland Tartan Army (WESTA) gathered in the Rhoderick Dhu for an auspicious occasion to celebrate the history of Scottish football, and compete in the Football's Square Mile Five-A-Side Quiz competition.

Ten brave teams battled it out for the title of winning the first ever Copa Del Westa, and Stephen Mceleny's 'The Green Thistle' ran out as Champions, narrowly edging Derek Moore's 'Beerhunters', and lifted the famous 1st Hampden Challenge Cup.

Stephen, our inaugural winning captain, explains, 'What a fantastic night that was. Alongside my teammates Jim, James, Mags and Mark, I was delighted to win such a prestigious honour. The quiz was a great mix of questions, and a big shout-out to the quizmaster! Congratulations to all the organisers on such a well-run evening. Here's to next time.'

The evening kicked off with an update on all things Football's Square Mile, including an update on our recent FSM visit to the FIFA Museum, our Football's Square Mile membership scheme, the Trailify App, and the new FSM Shop. This was followed by an update from our Hampden Collection Team, explaining the recent Scottish Cup Poetry Slam, the Diversity Award from Footy Con 2025, and the grant for Scottish Book Week.

John Daly, Vice Chair of WESTA, explains, 'Another informative yet entertaining event from the crew at Football's Square Mile and Hampden Collection. Much fun and hilarity. A great night out at the Rhoderick Dhu.'

This was further complemented by brilliant presentations from Richard Young's 'From Poloc to Brazil', and Lindsay Hamilton's Glasgow Football Tour story. These trailblazing stories were complemented by Poets, Donna Matthew and John Daly, who were on hand to intertwine the evening's events with the best fitba poetry.

Lindsay explains further, "We had a fantastic night in the Rhoderick Dhu with a real buzz in the place with stories being shared, pints being poured, and friendly competition being had. There were some real footballing gems in the room with us, with my team members Rose Reilly, Hugh MacDonald and Beth Wallace, and we laughed a lot, collectively celebrating Scotland's unique football history. Magical!'

The evening's main event was the quiz, a highly entertaining showcase of general knowledge, with a fitba history round to finish it off.

David Coutts, FSM Director, explains, 'The Rhoderick Dhu (Home of WESTA) was buzzing with laughter, fun, and WESTA characters showcasing their trivia knowledge. There was lively debate with Siggy, our quizmaster, including VAR decisions on decimal points and IPA, and the question of where exactly is the friendliest place in the world? And we cannot fail to mention the magnificent efficiency of the passing and moving of quiz sheets around the tables for marking - the Scotch Professors would have been so proud.'

As always with these events, we would like to thank the WESTA Committee for allowing us to hold this event, and the wider WESTA membership for attending and making it a night to remember.

A special mention to our headline sponsor, Lindsay Hamilton, for providing the 1st Prize of 5 tickets to the GFT Subcrawl. We also extend our thanks to everyone who purchased a FSM site for our FSM Roulette and raffle ticket, as well as to those who generously donated prizes for the evening. And finally, Georgia Dunn for being our budding photographer on the night and allowing us to forever hold the memories of our inaugural event.

And to the WESTA committee, who have kindly donated £300 to the FSM mission - a hugely generous gift that allows our machine to keep turning. We are a not-for-profit organisation and every penny gets invested into our UNESCO World Heritage Mission. As part of the evening, we announced we would donate £100 from the quiz team entry fees to the Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal, rounding off a fabulous night of celebration and camaraderie amongst the Tartan Army ranks.

We'll leave the final words to Jim Brown, Chair of WESTA, 'Laughter, smiles, friendship and another education - fantastic evening from the folks at FSM. 'The Greatest Story Never Told' is on a roll. WESTA were delighted to play host and look forward to more.'

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