The six-year-old Scot who designed Brazil's national tartan
June 25, 2026 · Marta Delgado
Indie Menzies, a six-year-old from Scotland, designed Brazil's first official national tartan, inspired by the country's flag colors. Her family has a historical connection to Charles William Miller, who introduced football to Brazil.
Six-year-old Scot Indie Menzies has designed Brazil's first official national tartan - and her family shares an uncanny link to the man who introduced football to the South American nation. The Brazilian Consulate in Edinburgh asked Largs Academy pupils to create Brazil's national tartan because of the town's historic footballing ties to the country. Indie's winning design, 'The Spirit of Brazil', takes inspiration from the iconic yellow and blue of the country.
"We looked at the Brazil flag, and that showed me all the colours, and I decided where they would all go," Indie told BBC Scotland. Indie couldn't believe that her design was selected and reflected on her emotions when seeing the tartan in person. "I was like how is this what it looks like now? It's nicer than my drawing because it came to life."
Image
The timing couldn't be more fitting as Scotland face Brazil in Miami at the World Cup on Wednesday night and the tartan is expected to appear at events marking the occasion, including the Coral Gables Museum where the world's oldest football is also being held. But for the Menzies family, this win has a deeper meaning. Indie's gran June is the great-great-great niece of Charles William Miller - the man credited with bringing football to Brazil. Miller was born in Sao Paulo in 1874. His mother is Brazilian, but his father originates from Fairlie, North Ayrshire - just three miles from Largs. Miller moved to England for school, where he found his love for football before heading back to Brazil and introducing the sport to the nation.
Miller even founded the 'Liga Paulista de Foot-Ball' which is currently known as 'Campeonato Paulista' - Brazil's first football league. To this day he's known as the father of Brazilian football. "There was something in our local paper about Charles Miller a while back, and we discovered then that we were related, so I wanted to just verify it," said June. "I got in touch with a local historian, and he got the family tree and showed us that we are related. It's just lovely that we are related to him and it's just so nice the connection between the two countries.
TAGS
Related Stories

Tottenham Hotspur Close to Contract Extension with Porro — Romano
Pedro Porro is on the verge of extending his contract with Tottenham Hotspur until 2030.
4h ago · Manuel Ángel Gómez
Real Madrid on Fire: Konaté Joins, Dumfries Next?
Real Madrid has officially signed Ibrahima Konaté and is preparing for further acquisitions, including Denzel Dumfries and Michael Olise.
4h ago · Jorge Navarro