New Celtic project to plant roots in Japan gets underway

By Patrick Sinat

March 30, 2023

The appointment of Ange Postecoglou changed the whole dynamic of Celtic Football Club.

I would imagine that Peter Lawwell and the board, at the time, could not have foreseen the complete overhaul of almost every footballing department at the club because of the appointment of just one man.

And if they did, I am then willing to bet that they could never have predicted just how successful it was going to turn out to be.

The recruitment strategy has been transformed. We are now looking like a genuinely global club as our scouting department identifies talent from all over the world.

And now, the club has set up an outstanding initiative in Japan where over the course of 10 days, the Celtic Soccer Academy will be holding three-day camps in three of Japan’s biggest cities to help encourage and coach the future stars of Japanese football.

The academy promises to teach technique, top tricks and teamwork in an initiative that has been backed by Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi.

The camps started in Tokyo on the 26th of March for three days and it is now onto day 2 of the second leg of the tour in Fukuoka until the 31st of March.

The initiative is then wrapped up in Hiroshima where from the 2nd of April the Academy will look to promote the Celtic Way of football and capture the imaginations of Japanese youngsters.

And whilst the initiative does not carry any guarantee that these youngsters will come to Celtic, it does give the club’s reputation in the region a massive shot in the arm.

And who knows, Chris Smith and the rest of the Academy team may see the wheels set in motion to help and nourish the next Kyogo Furuhashi.