how many languages exist that treat collective nouns as plural? (Split off English Debate)

[tommus]

Just listen to a British sportscaster:

England are scoring more goals. France are making substitutions. Germany are a strong team. The team are playing well. There is a British sportscaster who came to Canada to commentate on Canadian soccer (football). Now, Canada are playing well.

You hear it all the time in sports and other British broadcasts.

[Kraut]

Lo primero que vimos nada mas entrar fue una cucaracha que alegremente nos dio la bienvenida. Por desgracia al dia siguiente nuestra amiga ya no existia..se la habian comido un grupo numeroso de hormigas que heredaron la habitacion.

So here is an example from Spanish: "grupo" with verb in the plural, though I have no idea whether Spanish purists might regard it as ungrammatical. It's from a review in Tripadvisor.
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El resto de instalaciones están cerradas, salvo a la hora del desayuno, incluido un hermoso jardín con vistas al mar.

[leosmith]

does any other language treat collective nouns as plural, or is it just british english?

None of my languages do. However, there are languages that don't distinguish between plural and singular in certain situations.