Bank of Scotland unveils McTominay-inspired note for World Cup return

The Bank of Scotland turned Scott McTominay’s overhead kick into currency, unveiling a limited-edition 20-pound note that frames Scotland’s World Cup return as both a football memory and a piece of national iconography. The design, created with McTominay and illustrated by Scottish artist Katie Smith, set the moment against the Forth Bridge and folded it into the bank’s traditional note style.

Only 100 notes were printed. Half of them were reserved for fans, with 25 allocated through a prize draw and 25 through an auction, while the remaining notes were tied to two pop-up vaults in Glasgow and Edinburgh. One auction lot also included an exclusive piece of McTominay memorabilia, extending the note from a commemorative object into a collector’s item with clear scarcity built into its release.

The bank said proceeds from the auction and prize draw will go to Crisis Scotland, linking the celebration to a practical charitable purpose. Bank of Scotland said it was supporting Crisis in its aim to end homelessness in Scotland by 2040, a reminder that the country’s football triumph was being packaged not only as memorabilia but also as a civic gesture with money attached.

McTominay’s goal, an overhead kick in Scotland’s 4-2 World Cup qualifying win over Denmark at Hampden Park on November 18, 2025, sealed a place at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Scotland last played at a men’s World Cup in 1998, and FIFA’s team profile describes the coming tournament as the country’s first finals since then. In Group C, Scotland will face Brazil, Morocco and Haiti from June 13 to June 24, 2026, and the draw also revived an old symmetry: Brazil, Morocco and Scotland were grouped together at the 1998 World Cup.

Emma Noble, Bank of Scotland’s executive chairwoman, said the project was intended to mark qualification in a way rooted in Scottish identity, bringing together football and banknotes, two threads she said have long been part of the country’s story. McTominay, who plays for Scotland and Napoli, said moments like that belong to everyone who follows the team, and that seeing his goal on a Scottish banknote felt especially meaningful. The note captures the larger meaning of Scotland’s return: a single strike from Hampden Park now minted into everyday life, where sport, commerce and collective memory meet.