Meet the Scots adoptee using the World Cup stage to find birth family in Morocco

Born in Morocco before being adopted and brought to the UK as a baby, the Edinburgh man has spent his entire life in Scotland.

He speaks with a distinct Scottish accent through a raspy voice after spending the first six days of Scotland’s World Cup adventure singing a portfolio of Tartan Army anthems. Mr Anderson follows his love of Scottish football everywhere and considers Leith home. Yet despite not speaking a word of Arabic, Morocco, the country of his birth, remains an inescapable part of his identity.

Now, in a twist worthy of football's greatest stage, the two nations closest to his heart are preparing to meet.

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“I was shaking when I found out Scotland and Morocco were playing each other,” Mr Anderson said. “I wanted them away from each other. Scotland is my home and I support Scotland all the way, but Morocco is part of who I am.”

Like many Scotland fans heading to the World Cup, a pilgrimage so many thought they’d never make, the 36-year-old arrived in Boston with no match ticket and only one night’s accommodation booked, seeing where the once-in-a-lifetime experience would take him.

“I got a ticket last minute for the Haiti game and ended up right at the front of the stadium,” he said.

“I managed to then get a spare bed where a friend was staying and I've made loads more friends since.”

Like thousands of Scotland supporters, he has immersed himself in the carnival atmosphere surrounding the tournament.

“I’m shouting ‘Go Scotland’ every two minutes while walking around Boston,” he laughed. “I’ve been enjoying the fan zones and I’ve been to the game. It’s been brilliant.”

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Yet Mr Anderson's story stretches far beyond football. Born in February 1990, he was cared for at the Mohammad V Hospital in El Jadida for the first few months of his life before moving to the UK with his adoptive parents at six months old. He believes he was abandoned at the hospital and has spent the past five years searching for answers.

“I don’t know my mother or father or any of my family,” he said. “I’m just trying to find even a cousin. I’m aiming low.”

His search has taken him across Morocco on five separate occasions. Each trip is emotionally and financially demanding, involving lengthy train journeys, translators, DNA tests and meetings with people who believe they may be related to him.

“I’ve had four or five families say, ‘I’m your mother’, but after DNA tests it wasn’t the case,” he said.

“You can’t get DNA tests in Morocco, so I have to take them over with me. There are scammers, but there are also people who genuinely believe they’re my family and just want to help.”

Recently, however, he uncovered what he believes could be a significant breakthrough.

“I found out some vital information, a potential name, so I’m heading back out in the next few months to continue the search. It’s a good thing, but these trips take a lot out of you.”

The search has attracted attention in Morocco, where Mr Anderson's story has featured on television and in local newspapers. Although it has yet to lead him to his family, it has created unexpected connections.

One arrived almost immediately after he landed in Boston, where Morocco are due to play Scotland on Friday.

“A guy working in a 7-Eleven recognised me from Moroccan TV,” he said. “He was Moroccan himself. It was crazy.”

Since arriving in Boston, Mr Anderson said he has found himself embraced by fellow Moroccans, with many offering to help him find his birth family.

“I’ve been to a Moroccan restaurant here and lots of Moroccans have come up to me and said, ‘Here’s my number, I’ll help you.’ But I’ll deal with all that after the World Cup. Right now I just want to enjoy the World Cup vibes.”

Fans from both countries have descended on the city, wishing each other and their respective teams well ahead of the match.

“For me, it’s the biggest game of the tournament,” Mr Anderson said.

“I still haven’t got a ticket, but I’m hoping to get one.”

Despite his Moroccan roots, there is no uncertainty over where his footballing loyalties lie.

“I don’t look Scottish but I sound Scottish, so I confuse people,” he said. “When Scotland fans ask where I’m from, I tell them I was born in Morocco but Scotland is my home. Their first question is always: ‘Who are you supporting?’ When I say Scotland, I get a big high-five.

“Moroccans come up and speak Arabic to me, but I haven’t got a clue what they’re saying. Then they ask who I’m supporting. When I say Scotland, they’re not too happy. They think I’ve betrayed them.

“But Scotland is my home. Leith is my home.”

Something that distinguishes Mr Anderson within the wider Tartan Army, however, is his sobriety. A former drinker who worked in Ibiza, he gave up alcohol three years ago and now attends football trips completely sober.

It makes him stand out among the famously thirsty Scotland fans, who have reportedly drunk several Boston pubs dry.

Noelle Somers, chief operating officer at Hennessy’s Bar in central Boston, said trade following the Scotland v Haiti match had tripled that of St Patrick’s Day.

She told the Boston Globe: “We’ve been here for over 30 years and we’ve never seen anything like it.”

Read more: Boston pubs running out of beer as Tartan Army drinks bars dry

The bar ran out of beer on Sunday night before being restocked on Monday morning. Another delivery is due on Thursday, ahead of the Scotland v Morocco match when hundreds if not thousands of Scotland fans are expected to be drinking in the area.

“Being out late sober can take it out of you,” he admitted. “I still miss alcohol. I’m just cutting it off at the moment.”

Rather than avoiding social occasions, Mr Anderson continues to join supporters in pubs and bars, hoping to demonstrate that sobriety need not mean isolation.

“I like to set an example that you can still enjoy yourself,” he said. “I still go to pubs in Edinburgh. They know my order — caramel latte. Shout out the Ball Room in Meadowbank.

”The amount of times I get the chants going and people on my shoulders you would honestly think I was just drunk.”