World Cup organizers promise improvements in queues for Scotland x Morocco

World Cup organizers said crowd control and queuing had been improved for the match between Scotland and Morocco after fans faced long waits last weekend. The Tartan Army, a Scottish fan base, called for changes at Boston Stadium, where thousands of supporters were stuck in line waiting for trains and to pass through security gates. Some fans reported to the BBC that there was potential for a tragedy outside the Scotland-Haiti game and mentioned barriers being torn down by the mass of fans.

FIFA acknowledged that queues were “longer than ideal” at the 64,000-capacity stadium, but said adjustments were made following observations of crowd patterns. BBC Scotland News understands that Police Scotland, which has four fan liaison officers in the US, provided feedback to organizers after the match. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) said lessons have been learned, with signage and routes now improved for train-traveling fans.

Nearly 20,000 passengers bought train tickets last week, but many complained about long queues at stations and a lack of air conditioning on crowded trains. FIFA's Boston host committee, known as Boston 26, said a "number of minor adjustments" had been made to improve crowd movement around Boston Stadium. A spokesperson stated: "As is common at major international sporting events, operating procedures are continually adjusted throughout the tournament. Although a small number of fans experienced longer than ideal waiting times, the stadium was full at kick-off time, with the vast majority of fans in their seats for the start of the match."

The measures were implemented in time for the game between Norway and Iraq at the same stadium, which had a "smooth" entry operation. Boston Stadium - renamed Gillette Stadium for the World Cup - is in the city of Foxborough, about 30 miles from Boston. Normally, it is the home of the New England Patriots football team, with parking for 20,000 vehicles, but for the World Cup, the number of spaces was reduced to 5,000, with new zones for fans outside the venue. Visitors were encouraged to use special trains and buses to attend the games.


On Saturday, fans reported waiting up to two hours to board trains back to Boston after the game. The last service arrived in the city at around 02:30. An MBTA spokesperson stated that they moved "an unprecedented number of passengers" to and from the stadium. "We, and our partners, are continually incorporating lessons learned into preparations for upcoming games," he added. Norway v Iraq fans experienced shorter queues at Wednesday's game, although passenger numbers were much lower. The MBTA transported 10,700 fans on Wednesday, about 9,000 fewer than for the Scotland-Haiti game. An earlier start time also meant that many fans remained in the Boston Stadium fan zone to watch a later game on the screen, avoiding the long lines for return trains.

However, the MBTAreported that more than 16,000 train tickets have already been sold for the Scotland-Morocco match, with another sell-out expected. Police Scotland said the role of officers during the tournament was to "act as a liaison between traveling fans" and support event organizers with safety advice. Earlier this week, several fans contacted BBC News about their long waits to enter the stadium, despite arriving hours before kick-off time. They reported slow, "airport"-style security checks before the packed crowd was directed through three gates.

Alan McCloskey, from West Lothian, said it was a "brilliant day ruined by a lack of co-ordination on transport". He commented: "There were plenty of security guards but no idea how to deal with a large football crowd. It was lucky no one got sick or got crushed." Alison Stewart said her train was "absolutely suffocating" without air conditioning during the Boston heatwave. "We saw an older man being helped by the police, he was absolutely pale," he said. "They clearly have no idea how to deal with large crowds who need public transport, and it's a credit to Scotland fans that things have remained friendly."

Ross Herbert, 49, described his experience as the "worst" he has ever had at a football game. He commented: "The queue was starting to get unsafe when someone in authority obviously decided to forget about the security checks and just let us through." Callum Brown, 32, said the queues for trains back to Boston were "shocking". He reported: "Almost two and a half hours in line, up and down, and up and down again, through the bars. It was hot, cramped, with no water in sight. It really let everyone down when we should have been celebrating." Despite the problems, the match itself, which saw Scotland beat Haiti 1-0, started on time and went without major incident. Scotland's game against Morocco takes place on Friday at 6pm ET or 11pm BST.

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