SCOTTISH football supporters suffering from Alzheimer’s are being invited to relive the glory days as part of a scheme designed to rekindle lost memories.
The Football Memories project – set up by Alzheimer’s Scotland (AS) – sees elderly supporters meet in groups and reminisce about their days as a young fan.
In the hour-long sessions they discuss things such as team line-ups, memorable wonder goals and favourite players.
AS said this kind of memory recollection could help spark memory synapses which would help dementia sufferers with their short-term memory.
Michael White, a Falkirk FC historian, praised AS for the project and said the positive results that have been noted so far have been “humbling”.
He said: “Some of the moments are quite emotional – to see the change in behaviour, mood and self-esteem from those men is quite humbling.
“In Inverness, a lady came along with her husband saying she wasn’t sure whether he would cope.
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“But she came back at the end of the hour and broke into floods of tears because he conducting a full conversation and was lit up.
“It’s powerful stuff. With Scottish men of a certain generation football was huge part of their life.
“When you take them back to that time people who haven’t spoken for months on end finally open up.”
More than a dozen participants are due to attend a taster sessions at Tynecastle – home of Hearts FC – starting at the end of this month.
Ben Craigie-Sharland, development manager for the Big Hearts Community Trust who promote good causes among Hearts fans, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to get involved and help this group of people in a way not though possible.”
The Hearts workshop will launch on February 26 with a second event being held on March 5.
