| Supporters homepage |
Details
Ref: India & Sri Lanka
Trivia
- There have to date been three ex-Celts who were born in Indian: Henry Callachan, Mohammed Salim & Paul Wilson.
- There has also been a Celtic women’s player of mixed descent (Sri Lankan from the fathers side) Jacynta Galabadaarachchi (more commonly known as Jacynta).
Summary
Write-up needed…
[add about UK football tournament… http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=3048]
Jacynta Galabadaarachchi
An Australian soccer player who plays as a forward for Scottish Women’s Premier League club Celtic and the Australia national under-20 team. In February 2017, she was called up to training camp with the senior national team. Galabadaarachchi’s father is originally from Sri Lanka. She also has Italian citizenship through her maternal grandparents.
India Marwaha
(2022:
Young goalkeeper India Marwaha who represents Celtic FC under-19 is making good strides in Scottish women’s football.
She was born India Romy Marwaha in Glasgow into a family of mixed heritage. Her father Kamal Marwaha is Scottish Indian.
Whereas her mother, Samina Marwaha is of Scottish Pakistani descent
Players
Links
- […]
Pictures
(from Aug 2013)
Celtic link up with top indian youth tournament
September 2010
Newsroom Staff
CELTIC are backing a prestigious youth football tournament in India and coaches from the club will help to train and develop the talented young footballers identified through this exciting new initiative.
The club has teamed up with The Mahindra Group, a large Indian Multinational, as it launches the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge.
It’s an under-14 school football tournament and will be held in six major India cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Goa, Bangalore and Kerala – casting a wide net to identify the most talented young players in India.
Celtic will send out coaches who will take on the responsibility of training and developing the players, as well as identifying the most talented.
Chief Executive Peter Lawwell flew to India to unveil Celtic’s backing for the exciting new initiative, and he said: “We are delighted to accept this invitation to visit India and take part in the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge and we hope to establish a positive and enduring connection in the country.
“Celtic will always be much more than a football club and our social dimension will always be of paramount importance.
“Celtic already carries out fantastic community and coaching work across Scotland and Ireland and we have already translated this work to programmes across Japan, USA and Australia.
“Given Celtic’s origins, Celtic has a unique story to tell and it is fantastic that there is already such interest in the club within India.
“Clearly, we are fortunate to have support for and interest in the club from across the globe and we are sure that this initiative in India will also prove very successful in showing Celtic and indeed Scottish football to a whole new audience.
“As a club open to all since its formation in 1888, Celtic at all times aims to promote inclusion and diversity.
“Celtic was formed to help an immigrant community in need and in the 120 years since the club’s formation, a charitable spirit and openness has characterised the club.
“These are qualities which will always symbolise Celtic and initiatives such as this, are hugely important to Celtic in promoting these positive messages.
“We look forward to working together, to fostering new relationships, and to welcoming young Indian players to Scotland.”
Thirty-two schools in each of the six cities will be invited to play a knockout round. This will result in a winning team from each city. These winning teams will then play against each other. The winners will be crowned the Champion of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge.
Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, said: “We are delighted to be back as promised with a grassroots level football programme, a sport we have long been associated with.
“The Mahindra Youth Football Challenge aims to cultivate young talent and provide a competitive framework to hone their skills.”
Mahindra has tied up with leading sports management company, Procam International, to execute this six-city challenge.
And Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director, Procam International, said: “It is indeed a pleasure to be associated with a project that involves such reputed entities as Mahindra and Celtic FC.
“Procam International is committed to giving India’s junior footballers a playing experience they will never forget, enabling them to focus completely on the task on hand, which is to play good football.”
The winning schools from the six cities and their coaches will benefit from a four-day coaching camp to be conducted by a panel of visiting coaches from Celtic before the Inter-City Challenge.
This same panel will then shortlist 16 players from the Inter-City Challenge who will further undergo an intensive five-day long coaching clinic where two to four of the best players will be picked to travel to Scotland and Celtic Football Club for further intensive training.
Celtic dream done, real mission begins
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-22/top-stories/30189183_1_celtic-fc-mani-maran-stubs
MUMBAI: Having spent all his life in a tiny room at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata, 14-year-old Bishal Harizan has seen ticket stubs by the thousands.
But the one stub Bishal, the son of a sweeper, holds closest to his heart isn’t of a game between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, or even the historic friendly between Argentina and Venezuela for that matter.
“My air ticket to Scotland is one I’m never parting with,” says Bishal who, along with Mani Maran (15) and Jayanta Mondal (15), returned from a 10-day training stint with Scottish giants Celtic FC that they earned, beating competition from across six cities in the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge conducted earlier this year.
Training at Celtic’s academy with the club’s coaches, the boys were in awe of the facilities and science behind every footballing detail and admit they never wanted to come back. “For someone like me, this chance was more than a dream. To watch the way they move, think and pass is something else,” adds Bishal, who struggles to reach a final count of the number of members in his family. “I think we’re ten,” he offers very casually.
Bishal had company in Jayanta, who also made the grade from Kolkata. The duo has been friends for three years now as they train at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) academy together. “What do I say about the stint at Scotland? My father collects scrap bottles and hands them to a factory, and even the thought of travelling out of Kolkata also seemed absurd. I have come back knowing one thing – I want to and can play at the biggest club in India,” proclaims the Bagan fan who plays on the wings.
While Bishal and Jayanta have their parents and family to share their joy and stories with, Bangalore lad Mani Maran’s celebrations begin and end with his older brother. Having lost his mother to illness while only six, Mani was handed a cruel blow when his father, who painted for a living, succumbed to a heart attack in March this year. But while most would have let the situation break them, Mani took up odd jobs, played the game he loved and made the trip to Celtic.
So impressed were the Celtic academy coaches by Mani, they even picked the central midfielder for an under-16 game against an Australian club. “I got sixty minutes on field, we won 4-0 and my coaches were happy. I can’t ask for more!” exclaims Mani, who is a ninth grader at the government sports school in Vidyanagar which also doubles up as his home.
The thought of resuming life at the hostel saddens Mani but he admits that his real mission to play the game professionally begins now. “The knowledge I got there was incredible. You know, each one of us had our own file that listed our strengths and weaknesses. It’s unbelievable,” says an excited Mani.
Wishing that his parents were around to see his success, Mani says their going away has only strengthened his desire to be the biggest star that Indian football has seen. He knows that when he makes it big, they will have the best seats to watch from.
MYFC launch 2nd edition
Mahindra, on Wednesday, announced the launch of the 2edition of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge. Like the last edition, the MYFC will once again be conducted in 32 schools across six cities before two to four of the best players are picked for a training stint in Scotland.
Paradise hosts 14th UK Asian Football Championships
By: Newsroom Staff on 07 Sep, 2012 11:30 THE 14th UK Asian Football Championships are returning to Glasgow this year and once more our own Paradise is the venue for the final
The Scottish Ethnic Minority Sports Association (SEMSA), in partnership with Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life and Celtic are hosting the annual event.
The teams competing this year are Singh Sabha Hounslow, Sikh Hunters Walsall, Sporting Bengal, GGNP Coventry, Coppice United, Singh Sabha Slough, London APSA and the host side representing Glasgow and Scotland, SEMSA FC.
The opening rounds of the tournament will be played at Glasgow Green on Friday and Saturday of this week before the top two teams clash in the final on the hallowed turf of Celtic Park on Sunday.
Celtic Chief Executive, Peter Lawwell said: “Celtic Football Club is delighted to be hosting and sponsoring the UK Asian Football Championships once again.
“The event is one which Celtic was instrumental in forming and it is very pleasing to see the way in which it has evolved over a number of years.
“Celtic has always been more than a football club and has long supported a variety of important community events aimed at promoting equality and the respect of cultural differences.
“As a club open to all since its formation in 1888, Celtic encourages any initiative which promotes ethnic harmony, social integration and the benefits of cultural diversity.
“These Championships achieve this – they are great for Glasgow and great for Scotland.
“The Championships have proven to be highly successful in promoting opportunity for all in sport and in providing a fantastic avenue for the promotion of young Asian footballers.
“I would like to congratulate the organisers on all their hard work and dedication in making this an outstanding event year on year and on behalf of all at Celtic Football Club I would like to wish the players and the teams the very best of luck.”
Now in its 14th consecutive year the event has successfully raised the profile of Asians in football and in doing so stimulated much needed debate around the issues that prevent the full participation of this particular community as well as other minority communities at all levels of the game.
The final goes ahead at Celtic Park on Sunday, September 9, with a 2pm kick-off time. Entry is free and if the 90 minutes finish level, the outcome will be decided by penalty kicks.