Connor Brian

⚽ GOAL – 43’ 🔵⚪ Coldstream FC 2–0 Fauldhouse United Conor Brian doubles the lead just before half-time! 💥

The joy sparked by Scotland’s qualification for the World Cup is a perfect illustration of why expanding the tournament is good for football, not bad. Make it a World Cup of 100 nations!! Their celebration shows that, for me anyway, the World Cup is not just about the favourites or the powerhouses, it’s about the entire footballing community feeling represented on the biggest stage. For smaller or less frequent participants, reaching the World Cup is almost like winning a trophy in itself. It was wonderful to see the explosion of pride, positive national unity, football joy from all quarters, no matter what age, race, sexuality. That is precisely what keeps the sport alive. And by the way, we don’t have enough of that. Why limit that experience to a handful of countries? Every new team adds a fresh story, a unique style, a different cultural expression of the game. Fans love underdog narratives, just think of Iceland or Morocco. Or Uzbekistan, Cape Verde. When more teams qualify, more federations invest, more young players dream, more governments offer support. I am convinced broader participation lifts the global level, not lowers it. On top of that, if the World Cup is truly global, the door shouldn’t be half-closed. Scotland’s celebrations are a reminder: nations with long histories, passionate fans, rich traditions deserve more opportunities to be part of the world’s biggest sporting event. The tournament isn’t, or shouldn’t be, only about who wins it, or should not be limited to a Euro-centric vision of football. For me it’s about what it means emotionally to millions. The more nations involved, the more of those moments we get.

GOAAAAALL!!!!!! JACK STORM !! Glenrothes 0 Coldstream FC 1 ⚽️⚽️⚽️

A wild theory: it's possible that the designer of the Sassuolo crest took, ahem, inspiration from a previous iteration of the Barcelona badge Any other instances of teams coming up with crests that resemble others?