Virtual reality experience could be a game changer for football fans with dementia

“As soon as I put on the virtual reality headset it took me right back to when I was seven years old, when my brother John took me to my first football match at Celtic park. I could see all the men wearing their caps and could even smell their cigarette smoke. It brought back so many memories that had been buried, it’s wonderful.

?“It’s sparked so many conversations among the people who’ve tried it, and brought back things that people haven’t thought of for a long time. It’s even given my family a boost because they were delighted I could remember these things. It gives me a wonderful pride in Glasgow to think of all the people who are going to experience this and benefit so much from it.”

Patricia Clark, 73, from Glasgow, lives with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. She’s a member of the Football Memories Scotland group who helped develop virtual reality technology that lets football fans living with dementia rekindle big match memories.

?VR headsets that transport supporters back to Scotland’s national stadium in the 1960s were launched at Hampden Park yesterday at an event attended by Alzheimer Scotland’s Chief Executive Henry Simmons and Mark Hateley, an ex-professional footballer and Alzheimer Scotland ambassador.

?Visitors were shown how the 3D immersive experience can help recreate the sights, sounds and atmosphere of past historic encounters.

The technology brings to life three key elements of bygone match days – travelling to the game, clicking through the turnstiles and cheering from Hampden’s vast terraces.

The VR project – the first of its kind in the UK – aims to offer therapeutic taster experiences and builds on a partnership begun by the charity Alzheimer Scotland and the Hampden-based Scottish Football Museum in 2009.