FC Twente unveil tartan kit honouring friendship with Stranraer fans
The bond began in 2006 when two Stranraer supporters helped a terminally ill Twente fan fulfil his dream of seeing an Old Firm match.
FC Twente supporters' banners. File photo. · Photograph: Ultras ge (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Dutch club FC Twente are wearing a tartan-inspired shirt this weekend to celebrate a 20-year friendship with football fans in Stranraer.
The kit makes its debut in Twente's Eredivisie match away to AZ Alkmaar and will be watched closely at The Grapes pub in Stranraer, home of the Stranraer Tukkers supporters' group.
A dying wish
The friendship began in 2006, when Stranraer supporters Jim McKie and James Hilton met Twente fan Dennis Van Unen at a match in Enschede. Dennis, who had terminal skin cancer, told them his dream was to see an Old Firm game.
Jim, a Rangers fan, and James, a Celtic fan, got tickets and took him on a tour that included Ibrox, Celtic Park and Hampden. Dennis died the following year aged 34, but supporters from both places have visited each other regularly ever since. Twente played a pre-season friendly in Stranraer in 2017 to mark ten years since his death.
Pub landlord turned model
Landlord Billy Hodge, 70, a Twente season ticket holder, modelled the new shirt in a marketing campaign filmed around Stranraer. He said he never imagined himself as a model, but called the kit fantastic.
Twente wore a similar tartan away shirt in 1994/95, which fans later voted their best ever. Scottish players Rob McKinnon and Scott Booth have also played for the club.
Marketing manager Leon Molenkamp said the shirt was a way to make sure future generations remember the unique relationship.