Celtic set to be hit by six-figure SFA cuts to annual academy funding

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Scottish football is never far away from a conversation about youth development.

And despite coming in for a fair bit of criticism in recent years, Celtic’s is still one of the strongest in the country.

After all, it was a Celtic academy product who, last month, scored the goal that sent Scotland to their first World Cup in 28 years. Fellow Parkhead academy graduate Ben Gannon-Doak also contributed with an assist on the night.

But change is afoot in Scottish youth football. The SFA recently announced the closure of its JD performance schools, which helped produce Billy Gilmour and other present Scotland internationals.

But that isn’t the only thing being taken away – funding to Scottish academies is also reportedly at risk.

Celtic could be hit by SFA academy funding hits

Academies cost a lot of money to run, but clubs of Celtic’s size find it much easier to operate than one like Partick Thistle, for obvious reasons.

But Scottish clubs of all sizes are currently losing players to English clubs at an alarming rate – just this week, Celtic kid Dara Jikiemi agreed terms with Liverpool.

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And now, according to the Daily Record, SFA sources are saying that annual payments to clubs through Club Academy Scotland (CAS) could be scrapped.

These six-figure payments are paid to clubs which meet the criteria for Elite level academies in Scotland – there are currently nine in the country.

Queen’s Park and Hamilton Academical, two historically strong academies in Scotland, have both recently lost their CAS status.

Clubs reportedly believe that the elite level will lose invaluable funding, which supports coaching qualifications, facilities and medical fronts.

The timing of the news is curious given the obvious financial benefits of the World Cup qualification. A meeting is taking place on Tuesday, when clubs will be informed of the association’s next steps.

Celtic themselves have just invested more than £20 million into youth development, with the upgrades recently completed at Barrowfield.

The position of Celtic’s academy

Jikiemi is the latest in a long line of players to have their heads turned away from professional contracts at Celtic in recent years.

Gannon-Doak, Aidan Borland and Liam Morrison are just three to have opted to move away before the age of 18.

The amount that the club can do about this is subject to debate. Some say that it’s down to a lack of opportunities being given to young players, whilst others believe that Brexit has left the Scottish youth market exposed to Premier League exploitation.

The truth is likely somewhere in the middle – but while this news won’t help, if players such as Colby Donovan can continue to make an impact on the Hoops’ first-team, hopefully more talents will think twice before leaving.