Don Boscos extend Celtic partnership until 2025!

A partnership that began in 2017 has been extended for another three years with Don Boscos and Glasgow Celtic strengthening a bond which has brought huge benefits for both clubs.

Boscos Club Chairman Marty Crumley and Jose Romero, Youth Academy Coach & International Soccer Academy Manager have announced the news this week, ensuring the Derry club remains a key component of the SPL champions' ever growing International Club Partnership Programme.

The partnership involves the sharing of club methodologies, coach education, coaching camps as well as providing Boscos players and coaches with the opportunity to visit Celtic Park and experience what life is like for an academy player at the world-famous club.

One of the many perks for Boscos are the invitations to take in stadium tours and attend first team home matches while coaches also attend the renowned International Coaches Convention in Glasgow and receive a behind the scenes look at how Celtic develops young players to reach their potential.

Last summer, four Celtic coaches visited Derry for a joint Summer Camp between the clubs, a successful venture that will be repeated in July of this year. It is five years going strong for Boscos and Celtic, making it an easy decision for both parties to continue working with each other.

“For us, Ireland as a whole presents a different opportunity to any other partnership that we have all over the world,” Jose explained.

“It is the spiritual home of the club of course so we are very careful of who we partner with in Ireland and making sure that it’s people who are serious about the club. At the same time we need to make sure we are responsible for those young players and hopefully Celtic fans of the future.

“From a development point of view, the main thing we do for the players of Don Boscos is that we offer a genuine standard of coaching and genuine way of working, the way we do with the Academy players in Glasgow. We’re very careful in terms of the coaches who go over from Celtic Football Club and making sure that the guys are well experienced and have a good idea of the philosophy and values of the Academy and club.

“The best thing we can do for the players is give them a genuine like-for-like experience of what our players get here in Glasgow.”

A huge Celtic fan himself, Marty could barely contain his excitement at the continuation of a relationship which has really put the Derry club on the map.

“Coming in as Chairperson, we had plans, but this partnership for me is way above everything else,” he enthused.

“Working with Jose who can guide us and develop our club, and having that association and the experience that the kids can have, both here in Derry and when they go over to Glasgow; be it Barrowfields or Lennoxtown or a match-day experience is amazing. Some of the comments coming from the kids on the trip, one phoned home and said ‘This is my best day ever’. Stuff like that is class. There are so many Celtic fans here in Derry so that association is just continuing that on and hopefully growing it as well.

“We had the trip last April when we took 40 members of the club over and that experience was unbelievable because those kids were coached in Barrowfield by Celtic Academy coaches. Even that setting and the history all around that and with Celtic Park in the background was just amazing for the kids.

“This partnership, which started back in 2017, seems to keep on growing and the coaches coming over are getting better and better and we’re hoping to maintain that and do these things on a yearly basis.”

See tomorrow's Derry News for more.