Reality is they're rubbish – but can Fort William FC now be global TV superstars?

DESPITE living on the other side of the Atlantic, he is a diehard Scottish football fan – though his team languishes at the foot of the Highland League.

But if Paul McDonald's plan comes off, Fort William FC will not only rocket up the league with the help of a string of aspiring American players, they will also become TV stars.

The American media executive yesterday unveiled his proposals to turn Fort William into a fan-controlled club, whose followers will decide its fate via an internet site.

The website of Mr McDonald's TV company, PMAC Tonight, describes the project as a "high-concept reality (television] show that involves replacing the current players of a Scottish soccer team with American players and putting America in total control of the team's destiny … (which] will transform the world of fantasy sports by turning the fantasy into reality".

If successful, he plans to roll out the concept to English football, and into the rest of Europe.

But one thing is holding his ambitions in check: the club has yet to sign up to his plans.

Bemused Fort William FC officials say all they have agreed with Mr McDonald is a kit sponsorship deal for the forthcoming season, which will see their shirts boasting the logo of "America's Team".

James Campbell, the club's chairman, said: "All we've decided is to agree a kit sponsorship deal. We've certainly not agreed to sell the club or allow it to be run over the internet."

However, that has not prevented the 43-year-old – who admits his previous television experience has been limited to producing commercials for spectacle and contact-lens manufacturers – announcing details of his scheme to the world.

His website proudly states: "Members who pay a fee will be entitled to 'manage' a diverse group of young, dynamic Americans to go and represent our country in one of the world's most beautiful but difficult locations for Americans to play – the Highlands of Scotland. Millions will be glued to the competition and rally around the team that is against the odds."

Mr McDonald claims to have roots in the Lochaber area, with his ancestors being said to have left Scotland around 150 years ago for a new life in County Mayo in the Republic of Ireland, before heading across the Atlantic.

He told The Scotsman: "I'm deadly serious about this. It may sound like a huge wind-up but I came over to meet various officials at the club in May.

"I've been a big fan of Scottish football since the mid-1990s when there was a big baseball strike on in the US. I started to follow Glasgow Rangers, when they had great players like McCoist and Laudrup. I came to Scotland on holiday in 1997 and toured around but I just fell in love with Fort William, and have followed the team ever since."