 The Tartan Army says it is time Scotland hosted the finals |
It would be a "dream come true" if Scotland was to host the European finals in 2016, representatives of the Tartan Army have said. The loyal followers of Scotland's football team said they wholeheartedly supported a bid to bring the championships to "the hame of fitba".
New First Minister Alex Salmond has said Scotland should make a solo submission for the tournament.
The Scottish Football Association said it "may be interested" in making a bid.
Scotland failed in a bid to host Euro 2008, which would have been held jointly with the Republic of Ireland, with the showpiece event going to Austria and Switzerland instead.
A Scottish Executive report later pointed blame at the Irish for failing to deliver on stadiums.
Mr Salmond said planning should start now for a 2016 bid and added that any application should be a solo Scottish bid rather than a joint one.
Tartan Army spokesman Hamish Husband said: "Scotland fans, the best fans in the world, party everywhere we go and are fantastic ambassadors for Scotland when abroad.
"We feel its our turn to host the party and would like to welcome all football fans to Scotland in 2016, should we go for it.
"David Taylor was the driving factor behind the Euro 2008 bid. We are confident his successor, with the backing of Alex Salmond, the Scottish government, the Tartan Army and the people of Scotland, will push on with a successful Scotland Euro 2016 Campaign and bring the tournament to Scotland, the hame of fitba."
The Scottish Conservative Party has also backed a 2016 bid.
 Hampden park would be the focus for the finals |
The party's sport spokesman, Jamie McGrigor MSP, said: "Only this week, Scotland demonstrated its ability to host big games and show its friendly face to our European friends.
"I hope the other parties will consider the option and help the Scottish Parliament present a united front should the SFA make a sound case."
The SFA said it may be interested in submitting a bid to host the championships, but said there were several points to consider.
A spokesman added: "Uefa has only just announced the hosts for the 2012 championships and there are a lot of unknown quantities involved with a possible bid.
"It may depend on the size of the tournament and whether there would be say 16 or 24 teams involved - that could mean a huge difference in the size of the tournament and on whether we would be able to stage it here.
"We are however very pleased that Alex Salmond is so clearly putting sport at the top of his agenda to mention this issue on one of his first days in office and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with him further."
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We feel its our turn to host the party and would like to welcome all football fans to Scotland in 2016, should we go for it
