Schools To Play For The Lisbon Lions Trophy

THE Glasgow Schools’ Football Association together with Celtic and Hyndland Secondary School are launching The Lisbon Lions Trophy, to honour the 50th Anniversary of Celtic becoming the first British club to win the European Cup.

- Jo Hendry

The U14 schools’ football tournament will take place at Toryglen Football Centre on Thursday, May 25, the 50th anniversary of Celtic’s greatest triumph, and the semi finals and final will be held at Celtic’s training ground at Lennox town in early June.

It will bring together 16 schools, and over 200 pupils from across the West of Scotland representing schools attended by Lisbon Lions and also the best performing schools from this year’s GSFA league and cup competitions.

When pupils at Hyndland Secondary School knocked on their teacher’s classroom door to ask if he could arrange extra football matches for the summer term, they certainly did not expect the six-in-a-row champions to answer their plea.

Mr Downie, a science teacher who runs the school’s football teams, contacted Celtic with what he thought was a pipe dream of bringing together pupils from across the city to mark the 50th anniversary of Lisbon.

Days later, a stunned Mr Downie received an email inviting him to Celtic Park to discuss and start organising the tournament.