St. Louis Lions Announce Affiliation with Scottish Club Celtic
The St. Louis Lions, currently in their sixth season in the USL’s Premier Development League (PDL), officially announced today that the organization has reached an agreement to affiliate with iconic Glasgow club Celtic F. C.
The Lions are the top of the pyramid formed by the Tony Glavin Soccer Club (youth programs) and the Lions Elite Academy (boys U-13, U-14 and U-15). The affiliation between the Lions and Celtic is the first to be announced of several similar partnerships that Celtic is entering with other soccer organizations in the U.S. and globally.
The Lions are owned and coached by Tony Glavin, a former NASL and MISL player. Glavin, 53, grew up in Glasgow as a Celtic fan, with family members heading the supporter’s association. His older brother Ronnie was a member of Celtic championship teams in the mid-1970s, while Tony worked in the program shop at Celtic Park as a youngster before beginning his own professional career with the NASL’s Philadelphia Fury. The Bhoys of Celtic were established in 1888 and have won 42 Scottish League Championships and 35 Scottish Cups.
Tony Glavin
“Partnering with the Celtic Football Club has been a dream having been a lifelong Celtic fan, and will bring endless opportunities to our players,” says Glavin. “We will blend the cultures and share developmental training programs, making it the best of both worlds,” Glavin added.
The formation of this partnership didn’t happen overnight. Glavin has worked towards this partnership for over two years. The academies will keep their current names, as they have developed a regional brand over nearly 20 years, and will send a team each year overseas Scotland for training and games.
“For the first time in St. Louis, there will be a clearly defined path within one organization that will offer soccer players primary training to premier league play,” says Glavin. “Players will also have the chance to be scouted by Celtic FC coaches and trainers, and will travel to Scotland and the UK for play.” Last summer a team of 13-14-year-olds from the Lions Academy spent ten days in Scotland, training with Celtic coaches and playing five matches. Many of the players on that squad were members of this year’s Academy team that were runners-up in the Missouri U-14 State Championship.
The partnership has a very organic feel to anyone who has been to the Lions’ complex, which houses five fields, with plans for expansion in the works. The Green and White colors are everywhere, and the club wear the familiar hoops-type green and white kit. Glavin’s Glasgow accent is readily apparent despite living in the U.S. for 33 years, and the excitement within the Lions’ organization is palpable.
And what’s in it for Celtic? Besides greater brand recognition (the club boasts over nine million fans worldwide), the answer is simple. According to Lions’ GM Jim Shipley, “Celtic are looking for talent all over the world. They recognize that the U.S. is an under-utilized base for talent, and the club wants to be able to identify and help develop top players, like Fulham’s Clint Dempsey.”
Celtic FC International Development Officer and Youth Academy Coach Greig Robertson will be in the St. Louis area on Monday, June 27 to head a public information session about the partnership between the clubs. The session will be held at the Lindenwood University Performance Arena at 7:00 pm for fans interested in attending.
The Lions compete in the Heartland Division of the PDL.
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Thanks for the update on this Gerry. I’ve had a fair amount of contact with the Lions, Tony and mainly James Shippley, over the last couple of years. Really good guys and an excellent organization. Congratulations to the Lions and good luck in the future in developing this relationship.
Booooooooooooo Booooooooooooooo
I’m a Rangers fan
Thanks, Brian. I think there is very organic relationship between clubs that will be mutually beneficial.
@ tomASS ….Considering the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers, it wouldn’t shock me to see Rangers looking to form more foreign partnerships, too. It’s a good move, especially considering that the SPL has been suffering from lost TV revenues with the Setanta collapse a couple years back, and don’t have the finances to compete for talent with EPL clubs and clubs on the Continent.
Hopefully both clubs benefit from the partnership.
I would think Rangers have far more issues to deal with at the moment, between in-house fighting as a result of takeover, and sweating on the HMRC tax verdict. I also think the vast majority of clubs would steer clear of any partnership with Rangers due to their recent bad press, i.e. only club in the world to be fined (twice) for sectarian singing. It would be a risky move being associated with Rangers at the moment…..
I also think it would be difficult expanding the Rangers brand as there’s no real demand for it. For example, I live in Sydney and generally, the only football strips you see in large numbers are Celtic, Man Utd & Liverpool, with a spray of other EPL teams. This is obviously no doubt due to the Irish connection and would probably be mirrored the world over.
@ Barry – but hey they were all singing in key
Minneapolis has a solid Protestant presence
After last year’s AC St. Louis debacle, it’s just nice to see someone doing something positive for soccer in St. Louis. God bless Tony Glavin.