Celtic’s academy has reportedly been invited to compete in the Reece & Lauren James Cup.
Bayern Munich, Feyenoord and Rangers are also among the clubs who will play at the tournament, which will be hosted by Chelsea.
The Daily Mail report that it will be played on the 14th and 15th of this month, with boys and girls teams involved in the competition.
It is named in honour of Chelsea siblings Reece and Lauren James, who have risen from the respective academies to become first-team stars and England internationals.
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Celtic’s academy involved in Reece & Lauren James Cup
According to the report, the other clubs involved will be Dinamo Zagreb, Club Brugge, Right to Dream and Shamrock Rovers.
Right to Dream is not a professional football club; it’s a pioneering football academy which has been extremely successful since being founded in Accra, Ghana in 1999.
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Since being opened by ex-Manchester United Africa scout Tom Vernon, it has produced big-money Premier League signings such as Mohamed Kudus and Simon Adingra, as well as Ibrox midfielder Mohamed Diomande.
All three of those players, as well as many others, began their European careers with Danish side FC Nordsjaelland, who are partnered with the academy.
The James siblings founded the competition in partnership with Chelsea. Boys teams will be under-16, whilst girls will be under-14.
It has not been said whether scouts from other clubs will be present at the weekend of football, though some matches will reportedly be shown on Chelsea’s YouTube channel.
It’s a high-profile appearance for Celtic, with Nando’s and Cadbury among the sponsors secured for the tournament.
Celtic’s academy is in a critical moment, after the recent development of the club’s facilities at Barrowfield at an eight-figure cost.
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A crucial time for Celtic’s academy
Many in the Parkhead support have been critical of the club’s academy operations in recent years.
Celtic have been accused of ‘hubris’ in contract negotiations for young players, with Ben Gannon-Doak, Daniel Cummings and Aidan Borland among those to have professional contracts prior to reaching first-team age.
Others have given it a try, but left in search of first-team opportunities shortly after. Rocco Vata, already an Ireland international after his exploits with Watford, is an example of this.
The club will be hoping that Colby Donovan begins a positive trend in academy players walking the path from youth to first-team level.
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