What’s the most unlikely friendship in football?
You might not immediately think of a Dutch club and a small Scottish town on the shores of Loch Ryan, but FC Twente have a connection with Scotland that runs considerably deeper than a shared appreciation for tartan.
Their new fourth kit from Castore celebrates that relationship, reviving a design that first appeared more than three decades ago.
And as the saying goes, they’re cut from the same cloth.
The story begins in the 1994/95 season, when Twente introduced an away shirt featuring a distinctly Scottish tartan pattern.
At the time, it wasn’t intended to celebrate some grand footballing friendship. That connection would develop almost by accident.
Scottish footballers Rob McKinnon and Scott Booth subsequently became popular figures at the club, while former Twente goalkeeper Theo Snelders had travelled in the opposite direction, representing Aberdeen and Rangers.
What started as a rather unexpected design choice gradually became part of a much bigger relationship.
More than twenty years ago, Twente supporters established a friendship with football fans in Stranraer, a coastal town in southwest Scotland.
That bond eventually gave rise to the Stranraer Tukker Clan, the club’s official Scottish supporters’ association.
It’s an extraordinary little piece of football culture, and one that has endured well beyond the players and shirts that helped establish it.
Fast forward to 2026 and the tartan has returned.
Castore have taken the original concept and given it a darker, moodier interpretation, with deep navy providing the backdrop for intersecting lines of green, red, yellow and white.
The check runs across the body and sleeves, giving the shirt that unmistakably Scottish character without losing its modern footballing appearance.
A traditional fold-over collar and matching navy cuffs complete the look.
The badge deserves particular attention.
Twente have revived their older circular crest, complete with its heraldic imagery, and against the tartan it looks remarkably similar to something you might find adorning a Scottish clan gathering.
There’s even something of the traditional belt-and-buckle appearance often associated with clan crests.
Look towards the back and you’ll find TUKKERS beneath the collar, while the shirt numbers incorporate details inspired by the Scottish Saltire.
It’s a nice way of extending the tribute beyond the pattern itself.
The original 1994/95 tartan shirt was subsequently voted Twente’s most popular historic away design by supporters, so there’s plenty of affection behind its return.
The launch campaign embraces that heritage too, with former Scottish international Rob McKinnon returning to model the new shirt against a distinctly Scottish backdrop.
A fitting reunion.
Football has no shortage of unlikely connections.
We’ve previously explored Cesena’s tribute to German club FC Magdeburg, marking fifty years since the Italian side’s first European fixture:
That shirt celebrated a shared moment in two clubs’ histories. Twente’s connection with Scotland is something different, a relationship that grew through players, supporters and decades of genuine affection.
So what’s the most unlikely friendship between two football clubs or their supporters?
Some are born from fierce rivalries. Others from shared politics, history or simple chance.
Twente’s Scottish connection is certainly one of the more unusual examples we’ve encountered.
A tartan shirt, a handful of Scottish footballers and a friendship that has lasted for decades.
We’ll raise a wee whisky to that.
Credit; @fctwente @castore_sportswear
#fctwente #twente #stranraer #scotland #tartan #castore #footballkits #thekitsman
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