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“This project isna just aboot the beautiful game but the people, the community, the stories and the heritage that surrounds it. The Hampden Collection is such a wonderful discovery and one worthy tae be celebrated and amplified by community voices of all ages, languages and cultures.”

Susi Briggs, Wean’s Makar

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braw words poem10: I Classify football

I classify football as a fun sport,
with the kicking and the passing
and the scoring of course!

I do play it often,
as it is a respectable game,
for sometimes,
there is dominance to reclaim!

There is something I am wondering,
did you all know,
that compared to what I play,
the proper games are quite slow.

I don’t want to bore you,
with what I have to say,
did you know that the majority of people,
say football isn’t lame!

When I was eight in 2022,
I discovered football,
as this sport I always wanted to do,
and if you enjoy football,
and like it a lot,
then hopefully this will happen to you to!

And now here I am,
having joined a team,
writing verse upon verse,
making the game stand out and beam.

When I run along the ball,
sun burning my eyes,
I feel my spirit being optimised.

“Mum, dad, I want to play football!”
I remember saying with pride,
but I wish I could go back in time,
and say to myself,
“not playing football… really is a crime!”

I remember me shrieking at the tv,
ready to throw things at it (even my brother).

When my team is winning,
I feel this sort of glee.
One that makes me want to jump out
and scream: “you can do it!”

By Elena Murphy

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braw words poem9: Here for you

Going to a football game
is always so exciting.
Whether we lose or not
there is hope in the air.

When we get there, there are
flags all around us
Go on Scotland!
You can do this.

They play with the ball
like there’s no tomorrow
they try their hardest
and we cheer for them.

We never look back
We never look back

We hear the birds
they are singing for us.
Come on Scotland,
You can do this.

We are here, for you.

By Bella McNeill

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braw words poem8: All that

All that atmosphere, for this
one big night. All that tension
all that wait
all that hope
all that pressure.

We can do this.
This is our nation
this is our time
let’s go out and shine

Come on McGinn
Come on McTominay
Come on Dykes
Come on Gilmour

We can do this
Come on Scotland
We can do this!

by Shea McNeill

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braw words poem7: WHEN THE TEAMS COME OUT

When I feel excited,
I get this sort of chill.
Adrenaline.
It makes me crouch down,
And put my fists together.
Most likely to happen when Scotland are playing.
And when the teams come out I feel happiness, togetherness along with adrenaline.
It’s like a mixed emotion – clapping and cheering,
Hoping against hope that our team wins.
Then comes the tragic bit,
When England scores.
Heartbreak.

by Angus White

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braw words poem6: i love football!

Football is lots of fun
Overtaking other players
Over the line
Tackling
Ball flying
All the team working together
Learning new skills
Love it when I score!

by Daniel Hart

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braw words poem5: A GIRLS FOOTBALL DREAM

When I was Six, I used to kick a ball
I started training and stood very tall
It was the girls team I joined
But wasn’t enough for me to enjoy

On a cold winters day September 2017
I went for a trial for the boys team and wanted to scream
I did it I did it I am so very proud
My heart was thumping and I shouted out loud

Nearly 4 years on and still in the same team
I have met many good friends and they all treat me like a queen
After all I am the girl of the squad
But when it comes to training they don’t hold back they all trudge

Monday, Wednesday hard training nights
And also Sundays early morning match day vibes
I get up excited and cannot wait for what the game brings on after a long week wait
To be in the team talk with my mates and even more excited to be handed the captain armband it’s just great

To look round to see my mum’s big smile and I turned round and kick off for a while
I run and run and pass the ball I run some more and WOW I scored a goal

I eat, sleep and breathe football and it makes me the most happiest and proudest girl
My love will continue to grow with my team and bring on 11 a sides
Harder training, more commitment and more of taking risks in my stride

Hard work with the boys instead of playing with toys
Will land me a place in the ladies race
For now follow my heart and dreams
I am still smiling, loving and fighting to my teens

I gave up my friends in the girls to be brave and strong
To better myself and will be back before long
I can only play till I am 16 then back to the girls
To continue my teens

My fight through this journey is all worthwhile
So many friends and done with such style
To hopefully land a place in Spartans ladies team
Then move on to the massive DREAM

by Aylei Pickup

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braw words poem4: The best footballer

We wanted to play something with a ball
I mean what could go wrong
We tried to get a goal
But something rushed through the pitch
And took the ball
Of course, it’s the best footballer.

We are going through the pitch
Chasing him like tigers
But he’s going faster
Faster than a biker
Of course, it’s the best footballer.

Inhuman speed
Blurry are his feet
We don’t want to shout defeat
To the best footballer.

We shout stop
But he’s going on and on
At least he can’t escape
From the pitch
Of course, it’s the best footballer.

You are asking who this is
I mean who could be the best
Of course, it’s my dog
Rudy the best footballer.

By David Molka

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braw words poem3: Match Day

I am the most sporty in my house
so it goes like this:
When its game day my Mum says:
“Come on we have to go.”
My Dad says:
“We’ve got plenty of time”.
I say:
“We are going to be so early again!!”
Then my Dad jokes to my sister and says:
“You sure you don’t want to come? I know how much you love football.”
My sister grunts:
“Nooooooooooo!”
After the game my Dad says:
“You had better take those filthy boots off before you get in my car.”
My Mum says:
“Remember to put your clothes in the wash when we get home.”
My sister says:
“You are filthy and you stink!”
Soon after we arrive home I get changed, forget what my mum had said and dump my clothes on the floor.

By Maya Halcrow

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braw words poem2: Football is ALWAYS the Winner!

Football is my best friend,
A friend I play with all the time.
I miss it … to me not playing,
Really is a crime.

Football makes me feel fit,
Happy, healthy and full of energy.
“Head up! Look for space! Pass!”
Always playing to the best of my ability.

I can’t wait till football is back
And I can run out on the pitch 
But thanks to COVID, I must wait
To scratch my football itch!

Until then it’s online learning,
Practising skills till it’s time for dinner,
“Come on you know, and remember,
Football is ALWAYS the winner!”

By Grant Kerr

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braw words poem1: What is Football?

“What does football mean to me?
It’s ‘you like football?’ in a surprised voice
Because I’m a girl, right? – it’s not normal
But ‘yeah, I do,’ I say with pride.
Football is an identity that I proudly wear on my sleeve
My badge of honour, my captains armband.
It is being dragged to games, one after another
Hiding under a blanket, reading a book
Crying when your team scores, the shouting too loud
But being grateful
That you were introduced to the sport you’ve grown to love.
Football is forgetting to bring an extra layer
Almost freezing to death
It is the excitement of a new month
Turning over the calendar page to see a new player.
Football is anxiously watching scores come in on the concourse TV
Another game waiting to begin.
It is travelling for hours in the car to Stranraer or Inverness
All for the love of the game.
Football is supporting the underdogs
Suffering hundreds of loses for that one win.
Football is supporting a team no one’s ever heard of
‘Raith Rovers, they’re from Kirkcaldy.’
Bumping into a classmate at a motorway service station with our Dads
Me going to Raith, him going to St. Johnstone
It is singing Geordie Munro at the top of your lungs, packed in the stairs
Leaving the stadium after winning 2-0
Waking up the next morning with a sore throat.
Football is sitting next to a wee old woman
Muttering under her breath – ‘C’mon Kieran,’
Whilst everyone around her is shouting loudly
We may support differently but we’re supporting all the same.
Football is a boy you’ve never met before stopping you at school
‘You were the mascot at the Raith game at the weekend, weren’t you?’
‘You couldn’t have picked a worse team’
But football is being proud of it
Being able to stand up and say you’re different.
It’s debates with the boys at school on whether Hearts will win the Premiership
Football is knowing they won’t.
It is watching highlights on your phone at school
The game you missed last night
It is the ‘wow’ or ‘let’s rewind that’
It’s re-watching old games, over and over
But never being able to watch others again
The despair and regret too much to relive.
Football is sharing memories and experiences.
Hearing your parents’ stories of France ‘98
Making your own, 20 years later.
That you too will pass down one day.
Football is travelling to Paris
Being 3-0 up in the seventieth minute
Then drawing 3-3
Missing out on getting past the group stage
Football is the world stopping
Waiting for the player to take the penalty
The words ‘retake’ flashing around you
It is VAR
The anger and the disappointment.
Football is bumping into a fellow fan under the Eiffel Tower
The only things similar – the colour of your strip and your love for the game
Football is having amazing role models
Fighting for what you believe in
Chanting ‘equal play, equal pay’ with 57,000 others
People with the same passion, the same identity.
Some say football is a beautiful game
I think it’s more than that – it’s a lifestyle
It can mean everything to some, but nothing to others.
‘It’s just a bunch of sweaty people chasing a ball,’ a friend once said
Football is an identity that brings us together
It might mean nothing to you, but it means the world to me.”

by Grace Lawther

This poem was selected as the winner of Nutmeg Young Writers Competition.