Football fans suffering from dementia can now relive big matches from yesteryear thanks to pioneering virtual reality technology launched at Hampden Park.

The VR headsets project, the first of its kind in the UK, allows users to experience Scotland's national stadium as it was in the 1960s.

During the unveiling, former Rangers footballer and Alzheimer Scotland ambassador Mark Hateley showed how the 3D immersive technology recreates the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of historic matches.

This includes three key aspects: a journey to the game, the experience of passing through the turnstiles and cheering from the expansive terraces of Hampden.

Patricia Clark, 73, a member of the Football Memories Scotland group, said: "As soon as I put on the 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 was amazing.

"It brought back so many memories that had been buried. Now I’ve got them back again, it’s wonderful."

The project came to fruition through a collaboration between Alzheimer Scotland and the Scottish Football Museum, based in Hampden, which dates back to 2009.

Their joint 'Football Memories Scotland' project uses memorabilia like old photographs and films to help refresh the vivid memories of football fans.

The supporters from Football Memories Scotland groups played a significant part in shaping the content and themes of the new immersive experience.

Robert Craig, Chair of the Scottish Football Museum, said: "The launch of this unique and exciting VR experience is a wonderful milestone for us all, and we are delighted to welcome many of our reminiscence group members and community members to the museum to try it in the near future."

Archive material used for the VR content was co-created by people with dementia, researchers at Abertay University, and designers from Dundee-based video game developer crab.Bit.

(Image: Dementia)

The project has received substantial backing from The Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre, which promotes transformational collaboration between universities and businesses.

Additional funding from the Scottish Government allows Alzheimer Scotland to purchase Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headsets for all its 26 Dementia Resource Centres across the country.

Moreover, the charity has trained 35 staff members as digital champions to offer these VR experiences to local communities.

Henry Simmons, Alzheimer Scotland’s chief executive, said: "We know the tremendous impact that therapeutic activity like reminiscence can have on people living with dementia.

"We are thrilled to develop our much-valued partnership with The Scottish Football Museum with the launch of this VR experience.

"As always, people with their own experiences of dementia were central to the project development and we are so grateful to everyone who made such valuable contributions.

"We hope this experience brings many moments of pleasure and enjoyment to everyone who uses it."

(Image: Dementia)

Dr William Kavanagh, a lecturer at Abertay University’s School of Design and Informatics, added: "Immersive experiences like virtual reality can be a hugely powerful tool for enjoyment, education and healthcare purposes and we're proud to be bringing our academic expertise to such an impactful and worthwhile project.

"We now intend to use this experience to better understand the impact VR reminiscence can have when used in similar situations."