NICOLA Sturgeon has admitted she has resisted the urge to declare tennis Scotland's national sport in the wake of Andy Murray and Gordon Reid's Wimbledon title victories after getting bowled over by the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow.
Her appearance at the Glasgow tournament may even have inspired the Scotland team, who made it five wins from six with a dramatic last gap victory against Grenada.
The First Minister was cheering the Scots on as the last kick of the game against Grenada saw the Scots triumph 4-3, giving them five wins from six.
The last ditch winner from Scotland that had Nicola Sturgeon cheering. Source: HomelessWorldCup YouTube
Ms Sturgeon was spotted entering into the spirit of the event, and was even snapped wearing a See You Jimmy hat.
"It was absolutely brilliant," she said. "So fast moving, so entertaining and best of all Scotland won, in the very dying seconds of the match, it was great.
"It's been a pretty good weekend [for Scotland]. I was on the verge of saying we should make tennis our national sport until I saw Scotland there. I think we should probably not give up on Scotland yet.
She said she would "love nothing more to be here, cheering Scotland on in the final", but also added: "I don't want to jinx them."
The First Minister joined a star-studded Centre Court crowd to cheer Andy Murray to his second Wimbledon title with a final victory over Canada's Milos Raonic. Earlier Gordon Reid added the inaugural Wimbledon men’s singles title to the doubles crown on won with fellow Brit Alfie Hewett.
"Andy and Gordon at the weekend, I think, gave everybody a bit of a spring in their step. But football is in the DNA of Scotland, so to see the Scottish teams, men and women, do really well here would be particularly special."
She said she was "really proud" to have the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow. "The work it does to get young folk who may be excluded or have tough times, [to be] part of a team and really doing something very special is immense.
"But to have it here in Glasgow is wonderful. I'm really proud of it.
"The sport is great, but the stories and the whole motivation behind it is absolutely outstanding."
Players from 52 countries are playing a series of four-a-side games in George Square which has been converted into an outdoor street football venue, with three purpose-built pitches.
Scotland began the tournament on Sunday and the action will run until this coming Saturday evening.
The games last 20 minutes each and are free to attend, with the SNP leader one of thousands already to have lent their support.
The first Homeless World Cup took place in Graz in 2003.
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