World Cup Fans to Carry a Piece of Arbroath in Their Pockets

Scotland has made it to the World Cup, but Arbroath-based ESP Group had already made sure the nation would be represented…

The Scottish technology and services firm is helping bring a touch of Arbroath to this summer’s FIFA World Cup, producing commemorative public transport smartcards for football fans travelling to matches in North America.

And while Scotland’s qualification has given the team in Arbroath even more reason to celebrate, ESP Group says the project was its own “insurance policy” to make sure a little bit of Scotland would be part of the tournament either way.

The ESP Group is working with long-standing partner Vix Technology to support the World Cup fan travel experience, creating special edition travel cards designed to help supporters get to and from matches while giving them a unique keepsake from the tournament.

The project forms part of ESP’s ongoing work with Vix, which has seen the Group supply public transport smartcards and travel products across North America since 2021. To date, ESP has supplied nearly four million cards through the partnership, supporting transport schemes in cities including Edmonton, Phoenix and Dallas.

For the World Cup, ESP and Vix have teamed up to support special promotional card designs for fans travelling to matches in Dallas, where a series of group stage fixtures will take place this summer. The commemorative cards feature designs representing the national teams playing at Dallas Stadium, with nine designs being produced in total, including cards linked to participating countries and a generic design. Fixtures being played in Dallas include Netherlands v Japan, England v Croatia, Argentina v Austria, Japan v Sweden and Jordan v Argentina. The cards will operate as functional travel products while also giving fans a memento of their World Cup experience.

Stacey Cunningham, CFO of ESP Group, who is overseeing the project, said:

“It’s fantastic to be involved in the World Cup in our own way, supporting fans travelling to and from matches and giving them a unique memento of their trip to keep forever. We hope everyone has a fantastic time and, rest assured, we’ll be cheering on Scotland from our office in Arbroath.”

The project continues ESP Group’s growing international presence within transport technology, smart ticketing and product fulfilment, supporting major mobility schemes and customer travel experiences across the UK and overseas.