Scotland’s passionate football supporters, known as the Tartan Army, will be singing their hearts out against Brazil, but what lies behind the song ‘Flower of Scotland’?

The Scotland versus Brazil match is scheduled to begin tonight at 11 pm British time, with live coverage provided by BBC.

This Group C clash, taking place at Miami Stadium, will be crucial in determining which national side finishes at the top of the group and secures qualification, with Morocco also very much in contention. The result will be known around 1 am.

Before kick-off, the Scottish fans, famously called the Tartan Army, will proudly sing what is often regarded as their national anthem. But what is the origin and meaning of ‘Flower of Scotland’?

Although commonly associated with the Scottish national football team, ‘Flower of Scotland’ is not the country’s official national anthem. It is considered an unofficial anthem, traditionally sung at sporting events because of its deeply patriotic tone and historic references.

Its connection to Scottish sport is strong today, but the song’s journey actually began elsewhere — through a BBC television programme and in a different sport altogether.

‘Flower of Scotland’ was written in the 1960s by Roy Williamson, a member of the renowned folk duo The Corries.

The song was first introduced to the public during a BBC television broadcast in 1967, though the version aired at that time was incomplete.

The song’s famous third verse, recognised for its defiant line ‘We will rise now’, was not included in that early version.

Its popularity in the sporting world began with the Scotland rugby union team, thanks to winger Billy Steele. Steele encouraged his teammates to sing the song during the British and Irish Lions Tour of South Africa in 1974. By 1990, the rugby team had officially adopted it as their pre-match anthem.

The Scottish national football team followed this tradition three years later, in 1993, and formally adopted ‘Flower of Scotland’ as their pre-game anthem in 1997.

The lyrics of the song commemorate the victory of the Kingdom of Scotland over the Kingdom of England at the historic Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Although there have been numerous campaigns between 2006 and 2015 to make it Scotland’s official national anthem, ‘Flower of Scotland’ still holds an unofficial status.

In 2006, the song received 41% of the votes in a national poll conducted by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to identify a single national anthem for Scotland.

However, in 2015, the Scottish Parliament decided that the matter could not be formally resolved, closing a petition that sought to designate ‘Flower of Scotland’ as the official anthem, stating that they would “allow that debate to continue.”