Man walking to Euros finally bags ticket for opening game as Scot 'beyond grateful'

A Scot who is walking to the Euro 2024 Championships in Germany has finally bagged a ticket for our opening match on Friday.

Craig Ferguson, 20, set off from Hampden Stadium on the incredible 1000 mile trip last month. The hospitality worker quit his job in order to walk to Germany and raise funds for the men’s mental health charity Brothers in Arms.

He's already trekked through Newcastle and Hull before boarding a ferry to Rotterdam and walking on to Belgium and Luxembourg before finally arriving in Germany last week.

Despite his incredible effort Craig didn't even have a ticket for Scotland's opening match against the hosts on Friday - but he has revealed he is now finally going to be able to attend thanks to help from electric car manufactures Peoples BYD.

In a post on X, formally Twitter, Craig said: "After 35 days on the Road and over £35,000 raised for men’s mental health I can officially announce I’ll be going to Scotland Vs Germany in Munich. Thank you so much to Peoples BYD. I’m beyond grateful."

Craig, from Paisley, previously described the experience as a “journey of a lifetime”. He told the Record: “It has been amazing and is the journey of a lifetime which is not even over yet. Meeting so many people and going so many places has lived up to expectations so far.

“I saved up so that I was able to leave my job in a café and make the journey. I joined the unemployed, headed down to the Scottish borders, then Newcastle to Hull, across the ferry to Rotterdam, down into Belgium then Luxembourg before the final stage which is over to Munich.”

Craig previously spoke about his incredible journey saying if he did get a ticket for the Germany opener it would be "the icing on the cake". His initial target of £10,000 for the charity has already been exceeded with over £35,000 donated so far.

He added: “I’ve got a love for travel and exploring anyway, but on this journey going through so many different towns, cities and villages you meet so many amazing people. It really has been something so special so far.

“People have embraced me along the way which is so motivating. Everyone across Europe has had their own story about mental health which is special. If it is not them personally it is someone they know. We have had massive donations of almost £30,000 which shows people believe in the cause.

“You can imagine what the reaction is when people see a Scottish man walking with two walking poles and a kilt coming through their village. It’s been a mixture of people being impressed and confused. You don’t realise how far you’ve come on a journey like this until you sort of take a step back, zoom out on a map and go, oh God, I’ve come quite a distance.

“It’s been the journey of a lifetime so far as I sort of predicted it would be. Being on this journey and going through so many towns, cities and villages you meet so many amazing people and it really has been something special.”

Craig was also invited to the British embassy in Berlin to speak about mental health and football on Thursday. To donate to the fundraiser click here. To follow Craig's journey on X, click here.

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