He asked for a table for two. ‘It was an unusual request for a Christmas dinner but we assumed he was apprehensive about being overwhelmed by a large crowd,’ says Nicky Reid, chief executive of the SPFL trust.
‘He came into the room alone, sat down at the table and put a photograph of his wife opposite him. We later learned that she had died only recently. He had his meal. He died three weeks later.’
This is what a meal can mean to someone. There is joy at festive dinners but there can be true meaning too.
This is just one story of what is the secret Santa of Scottish football. There may be a mystery to what the SPFL Trust delivers, but not among the thousands who are helped by it. Certainly not among the 26,000 who have enjoyed a Festive Friends dinner over the last 10 years.
The Stirling Albion Foundation was just one of 40 clubs who organised such an occasion. It was attended by some for whom it will be the only Christmas dinner of 2025. It offered a chance for others to meet people and dispel any loneliness that is sharpened by this time of the year.
It was also graced by Catherine Morrison, who at 93 found it ‘delightful’ and a change from her line-dancing class. ‘This is my third time here,’ she says. ‘Isn’t it lovely? Isn’t it wonderful?’
Catherine Morrison, 93, took time out from her line-dancing class for a Festive Friends dinner
Stirling Albion was just one of 40 Scottish clubs who opened its doors to the community
The dinners allowed elderly and vulnerable football supporters to gather over the festive spell
It is. She is surrounded by pensioners, some from the Parkinson’s group that play football at Forthbank, and others who have been invited for a three-course meal, a rousing carol-singing and a visit from Santa.
‘I am very self-sufficient,’ says Catherine. ‘But this is a welcome treat.’ She still drives, lives alone and. of course, does her line dancing.
Her attendance at the lunch is in tune with her daily philosophy. ‘I go to church every morning, say my prayers, meet people and maybe have coffee with them. It is important to keep close to people,’ she says.
She lost her husband more than 30 years ago. They had no children so Catherine has forged another life. ‘I believe it is important to be active,’ she says. ‘I suppose you could call me a “going out person”.’
She enjoys football but as an armchair spectator. ‘I like it on the television. It’s great to see the fans singing and dancing.’
The singing begins in the room. There is a story in everyone present. They talk of the joy of reuniting with old friends, of finding advice for problems, of banishing some of the burden of everyday cares in a place of laughter and safety.
The SPFL Trust programme launched in 2016 as a pilot and has brought solace to tens of thousands. It also offers the chance to explore a secret Santa. What is the SPFL Trust and what does it do?
The SPFL chair Nicky Reid with Stirling Albion’s football development officer Craig Mair
Nicky Reid takes a breath, politely declines a dod of turkey, and tries to encapsulate her mission in bite-sized form.
‘We are the charity associated with the league,’ she says. ‘We are the strength of our network and our job is to improve the lives of people across Scotland. Football brings with it some challenges — we get that — but every day in the week we are working to help people.’
The Festive Friends is just one of the programmes as trusts and foundations at clubs bid to strengthen links with people who live on their doorstep.
The SPFL Trust may talk quietly but its impact is profound. ‘We as a country punch above our weight,’ says Reid. ‘I speak at international events and it is no exaggeration to say we are not doing anything different from the operations at Barcelona, Chelsea or Manchester United. I would argue we are doing it better, particularly because we have fewer resources and we are largely working with volunteers or part-time staff. We are probably the most community-engaged small to medium-sized league in the world.’
This is put in blunter, more powerful language. ‘We save lives and change lives,’ she says.
‘People come to us to be fed, people come to us who are considering suicide, we help those who are trying to reverse type 2 diabetes, we offer social interaction to people who might only experience that on one day a year.
‘It’s co-ordinated between us and those at the clubs.
‘We work together, we share ideas. It harnesses the best Scottish football has to offer and gives it back to people.’
Daily Mail Sport’s Hugh MacDonald speaks with 93-year-old Catherine Morrison at the dinner
This is exemplified by the people visited by Santa at Forthbank and other venues. There are those who have been reunited at events after long years apart. There was one pensioner who was struggling financially and attended an event at his club. He received advice that increased his benefits and changed his life.
‘It’s about people,’ says Reid. ‘Sometimes we forget to be kind and all this is an answer to that.’
It needs funds. The SPFL hands out £25,000 for Festive Friends. Fundraising and grants drive other programmes. But more help would be welcome from commercial sponsorship.
‘The need is increasing,’ says Reid. ‘The demand is growing.’
She welcomes Scotland’s qualification for the World Cup and not just as a fan.
‘There is a fundamental piece of leverage there,’ she says. ‘The World Cup brings attention to our game. There is, obviously, great stuff happening on the pitch but off the pitch there is so much to be proud of and so much for people to help us with. The World Cup publicity may attract those who have never thought of football and we have to get our message across that it is a force for good.’
She flits from table to table, welcoming the Festive Friends guests and chatting to volunteers who provide a superb meal, gifts and even persuade Santa to make a visit.
Sitting nearby, in a room packed with donations from local businesses, sits Craig Mair, football development officer at Stirling Albion Foundation.
‘My figures for the year show that we have 6,000 engagements with 1,500 people this year,’ he says. ‘We have about 300 people a week coming to the club for various activities.’
These stretch from the three-year-olds getting their first kick of a ball to the 83-year-old honing his first touch at the walking football.
Mair says Stirling provide opportunities for a wide range of ages to get involved with the club
‘One of our aims is to provide free or affordable football for all,’ he says. ‘We want to be a strong part of the community and that means offering something that is important to people.’
This theme is taken up by Jim Thompson, one of the trustees of the foundation. ‘We lost a young fan who took his life a couple of years ago and we thought we should be doing more for the younger generation in terms of mental health,’ he says. ‘We want to organise a solid youth club, we also want to move into football memories to improve social inclusion. We want to be here for the community.’
A retired police officer, Thompson is now editor of a programme magazine, organises programme fairs and is also a guide at the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden.
He is not just a fan of football but an advocate of the power the game has and that stretches far beyond the pitch.
‘People should know that the anchor point of their community is the football club. There are so many issues affecting people. We must be there to help them,’ he says.
The singing in the room merely puts this message to music.
