A football-themed memory session in Paisley brought together local participants, club partners and memorabilia as the Specsavers-backed Football Memories tour stopped at St Mirren Park.
The visit saw members of the Paisley Football Memories group welcomed into the dugout area at St Mirren FC, where they explored memory boxes filled with historic football items, including vintage boots and old matchday programmes. The sessions are designed to support people living with dementia, Alzheimer’s and memory loss, while also tackling loneliness and social isolation.
The nationwide tour is supported by Specsavers, the Official Eye and Ear Care Partner of the Scottish FA, and for the third consecutive season has helped bring former players and referees into communities across Scotland to share stories and spark conversation.
The Paisley stop formed part of a wider programme delivered by Football Memories Scotland, a charitable initiative run by the Scottish Football Museum in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland. Established in 2009, the project now supports almost 600 groups nationwide, many hosted in football settings, using the shared language of the game to unlock long-term memories.
This year’s sessions are themed around the World Cup, encouraging participants to reflect on Scotland’s tournament history and even select their best post-war Scotland XI ahead of next summer’s finals in North America. Visual prompts and tactile items are used to trigger discussion, with organisers noting that long-term memories are often among the last to fade.
The Paisley event also highlighted Specsavers’ long-standing relationship with St Mirren, Renfrewshire’s only professional football club, alongside its wider commitment to grassroots football, referee development and community wellbeing across Scotland.
The Football Memories referee tour continues in the coming weeks with further visits planned in Ayr and Motherwell.
Headline Photo: Front row: Dougie Hope and Gail Thompson. Back row: Football Memories chief executive Neal Ross, Anne Robertson and Alzheimer Scotland’s Katie Robinson
Photo Credit: Specsavers