It is Roy of the Rovers stuff.

Britain's worst soccer team may finally win a game for the first time in over two years after being boosted in a "groundbreaking" deal with a Scottish Championship club's rising stars.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle have loaned Highland League side Fort William nine of their development squad for the season.

Fort William could have chosen to leave the Highland League, but thankfully to the delight of fans across the division, the club decided to remain last season.

After a campaign where they fell below zero points due to fielding ineligible players and were at one time on minus nine, the west Highlanders will now be hopeful of a more successful season.

However, the last campaign may have tested the resolved even for the most diehard fan of The Fort. Fort William conceded 245 goals during the league seaon where they conceded 10 goals or more on 10 different occasions.

Fielding ineligible players at the start of the season saw them deducted nine points without recording any victories.

Their last win was against Strathspey Thistle in April 2017.

The club has finished bottom of the Highland League 15 times in the last 21 years.

Now they are being boosted by rising stars of Scottish football. Their season kicks off tomorrow away against Brora Rangers.

The tie-up with Caley Thistle follows the Inverness club's application to enter a colts team into the Highland League being rejected in May as club chiefs voted to remain at 17 teams.

ICT said of its deal with Fort William:"This is a truly groundbreaking initiative and we look forward to seeing the boys develop in the Highland League with Fort William and we see it as a benefit for both clubs and Highland football in general."

The Caley Jags do not have a reserve side and the players are too old for the under-18s age group.

In a statement Fort William added: "It is with great pleasure that Fort William FC announce a groundbreaking initiative with Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC.

"It has been well documented the difficulties our club has endured both on and off the park over the last two-and-a-half years. We were close to shutting the door last summer but the dedication of a few hardy souls kept the club alive and got a team on the park. There were a few highs and many lows and I salute the resilience of our young team throughout last season.

"A few weeks ago we were approached by Caley Thistle to discuss the possibility of working together in some way to allow some of their talented young players to continue their development. Our policy has always been about nurturing young talent whilst at the same time improving our team so this was clearly attractive to us.

"After lengthy discussions an agreement was reached that will see the best of Caley Thistle's young footballers showcase their talents in the Highland League whilst supporting Fort William's existing players and help them improve and develop.

"We understand that some might be concerned that this is some sort of take over from Caley Thistle but this is far from the case. We at Fort William FC have driven this initiative forward and believe it will benefit ourselves, Caley Thistle and Highland football as a whole."

Those loaned by ICT are Martin MacKinnon, goalkeeper; Donald Morrison, defender; Gabriel Hastings, defender; Ryan Fyffe, defender; Harry Nicolson, defender; Jack Brown, midfielder; Kieran Chalmers, midfielder; Ross Gunn, winger and Roddy Kennedy, striker.

Fort drew just two matches last season – and finished on minus seven points after a deduction for fielding an ineligible player.

Their plight is featured in 'The Fort', the story of Britain's worst football team, on the BBC Scotland channel on Tuesday at 10pm.