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Scotland captain Andy Robertson channels The Traitors for World Cup team bonding, years after his own NFT betrayal
The Liverpool defender organized a week-long role-playing game during training camp, a creative leadership move from a captain whose last off-pitch headline involved a collapsed crypto project
Andy Robertson, Scotland’s captain and one of the Premier League’s most recognizable defenders, spent part of his team’s pre-World Cup training camp running an elaborate game based on the BBC hit show The Traitors. Players adopted roles as either “traitors” or “faithfuls,” complete with nightly eliminations and group challenges, all designed to build chemistry before Scotland’s tournament opener against Haiti on June 13 in Boston.
The game behind the game
Robertson reportedly took on the role of host during the week-long activity, channeling Claudia Winkleman’s dramatic energy from the television show. The concept is simple: a group cooperates on tasks while a secret minority works to sabotage them, with the full group voting to eliminate suspected traitors each round.
The training camp took place in Turkey in November 2025, months before the World Cup kicks off this summer. Scotland has since relocated to North Carolina to continue preparations closer to their Boston venue.
The NFT chapter Robertson probably hopes you forgot
In 2022, Robertson was among the public figures who promoted Sportemon Go, an NFT platform that promised to merge sports fandom with blockchain-based digital collectibles. The platform has since ceased operations amid various controversies.
The 2021-2022 period saw an avalanche of celebrity endorsements for tokens, NFT collections, and metaverse platforms, most of which have since evaporated. From Tom Brady’s FTX partnership to a parade of Premier League sponsorship deals with now-defunct exchanges, the overlap between professional sports and crypto marketing became one of the era’s defining cautionary tales.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority cracked down on misleading crypto promotions in the wake of numerous celebrity endorsement failures. Several athletes and influencers faced investigations for promoting financial products without adequate risk disclosures.
What to watch
Scotland’s World Cup campaign begins Saturday against Haiti. The 2022 Qatar World Cup featured Crypto.com’s prominent branding and Algorand’s FIFA partnership. The 2026 tournament in North America will reveal whether those relationships have matured, contracted, or simply been replaced by AI companies with bigger marketing budgets.