Glasgow's new American football team folds after two games

An American football team that started playing in April has folded after playing just two games.

One former Glasgow Tartans player told BBC Scotland News he was excited by the prospect of being paid to play the sport, but that the club quickly became a "mess".

Declan Clay said players had to borrow uniforms for one game because their own had not arrived in time, and they were later asked if they would move to Las Vegas and play as the Tartans there.

The Tartans competed in the International Arena League (IAL), which involves US and European teams, but it no longer appears in the league's standings.

The club's management and the IAL have not responded to requests for comment.

All the teams in the league's European division have vanished and been replaced by a team called the European Stars - who will play all their games in the USA.

During their first game last weekend they played wearing the Tartans' old uniforms.

Braehead Arena in Glasgow has been processing refunds for people who purchased Tartans season tickets.

The Tartans arrival on the Scottish sports scene was greeted with scepticism from several people involved with grassroots American football, but IAL management insisted it was a long-term project.

Arena football is an indoor version of American football and there are several leagues across America, with the IAL launching this year.

Clay, a student at Edinburgh Napier University, signed up for the Tartans earlier this year when the new team started searching for local players.

The defensive lineman was excited to join the team, and signed a contract paying £1,000 per game with a further £1,000 to be earned from games won.

The Tartans' only game in Scotland was played at Glasgow's Braehead Arena in April on artificial turf that kept rising up off the surface underneath.

In a statement after the game the club said "unique circumstances" had affected the fixture and player safety remained its priority.

Clay said: "It was a massive concern, it was really dangerous.

"I'd never played in conditions like that before and this was supposed to be a professional team."

He said mats from a nearby store were taped to walls to act as crash pads.

Clay added: "We were told we just needed to just get this done for the game to go ahead.

"Maybe it was an attitude thing or a pride thing but we just thought we had to get on with it."

The game had been switched from Saturday to Sunday on less than 24 hours notice, and the Tartans played in borrowed kit as the team uniform was not ready yet.

A large number of £50 tickets for the game were given away to people at Braehead on the day to try and increase numbers.

A trip to the US was a cause for confusion, according to Clay.

He said players were initially told they were flying to Utah for a game, but the destination was changed to Cincinnati in Ohio where they took on a completely different team. The flights had been arranged just days in advance.

Messages seen by BBC Scotland News show confusion over where and who the team was meant to be playing.

The team flew to Cincinnati and secured a victory over Stuttgart. The game and flight home was all done within a 26-hour period.

Other fixtures were removed from the schedule, and players were asked if they wanted to move to Las Vegas for three months and compete as Glasgow there.

"I study, so I told them I can't do that," said Clay, who was paid what he was due for both the games that were played.

"I believe players have now been told everyone will be re-drafted to other teams if they go out there."

The team heavily used AI images for promotion, including one advertising a meet-and-greet with players.

Messages seen by the BBC show the post being shared by players - who wondered why they had not been asked to take part before it was advertised.

The Tartans last posted on social media on 14 May and the last training session held was on 17 May.

The league consisted of two divisions of five teams each - one with North American teams, the other with European sides.

The Tartans were slated to play six games over the summer at Braehead and general manager Bennett Johnson previously said the plan was to grow the sport and that the team was in Glasgow for the long haul.

At the time he denied that Tartans tickets were overpriced.

Of the five European sides, one - Zurich - folded without ever playing a game. Another two teams, the Eruptors and Stuttgart Stallions, disappeared from the league within weeks.

This left only Glasgow and Dusseldorf Warriors in the European division - with two teams from each division supposed to qualify for end-of-season play-offs.

The BBC has spoken to other people connected with the league, who criticised how it has been run.

In a statement last week the IAL said it was "pleased to announce a one-week midseason break", followed by a "second half sprint to the play-offs".

It said there would be six teams for this - five American and one international side, later announced as the European Stars.

The IAL previously said it was "not quite there yet" in Europe and was "exploring all options, including legal action and litigation" regarding what it called disruption to the league.

Tartans' management, coaches and the IAL have been approached for comment.