Die-hard football fans are well known for the lengths they will go to follow their team.
And one Raith Rovers fan is intending to travel across Europe this weekend to watch her side compete in their first cup final for 20 years.
Carol Smith, 32, who lives in Barcelona, is making a flying visit to Scotland to watch her beloved football club take on Rangers in Sunday’s final of the Ramsdens Cup.
Carol, who teaches English to Spanish businesses, said the chance to see her team win their first national cup in two decades is too good an opportunity to miss.
“I started following Rovers in 1992/93, just before the glory years,” she said. “These days I only get back about once a year for a family visit but I always try and time it with a Rovers game.
“My flight this weekend gets in at midnight on Friday and I’ll be away again on Monday so it really is a flying visit.”
Originally from Burntisland, Carol moved to Spain seven years ago but has remained loyal to the team she started watching as a little girl.
Despite the temptations of the Camp Nou and one of the world’s greatest sides Messi, Iniesta and Neymar included on her doorstep, Carol insists Raith are the only team for her, citing a lack of atmosphere at the home of the Catalan giants.
Despite her exile, Carol is well known among fellow Rovers fans and regularly contributes to the club’s matchday programme and even runs her own blog, paellaandbovril.
She has also taken part in the Barcelona triathlon to raise funds for her team.
With enough footballing talent of their own to show, Spanish football coverage seldom finds time to feature highlights from Stark’s Park.
However, Carol has still found a way to keep in touch with events in Kirkcaldy thanks to the club’s online service Raith Rovers Abroad.
“I’ve listened to Raith games in some pretty unusual places on the beach, up a mountain, in the bath,” she joked. “There’s even a chat box so you can talk to other supporters and get a bit of banter going.”
Carol has also used her profession to bolster Raith’s Spanish support.
She added: “I’ve now got a few students asking how they are doing and talking about the results at the weekend.”
Despite being in the league above Rangers, Rovers go into Sunday’s game as underdogs against the runaway League One winners.
Raith’s league form since the turn of the year has been less than convincing but Carol is confident Grant Murray’s men can press on and upset the odds.
I’m optimistic,” she said. “But even if we get the ball in the net then I’ll be happy.”