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Ref: New training centre on the old Barrowfield training site
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Opening: 19 September 2025
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New Barrowfield Training Centre opens its doors
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/september/19/barrowfield-training-centre-opens-its-doors-after-redevelopment/
Club News
By Celtic Football Club
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19 Sep 2025, 1:30 pm
Celtic Football Club is delighted to announce that the new state of the art Training Centre at Barrowfield is now complete, and the facility is now fully open for use by our Women’s team and Academies.
The complex, which sits proudly in the heart of Glasgow’s East End, re-emphasises Celtic’s strategy of maintaining a strong commitment to both developing our own players and investing in women’s football, with the project representing the largest infrastructure investment by the Club since the redevelopment of Celtic Park in the late 1990s.
Celtic Chairman Peter Lawwell commented: “We are sure that the new Barrowfield development will prove to be a really important milestone in the Club’s future.
“Celtic’s history is characterised by so many young players coming through the Club’s own development system, gracing the first-team and playing such an important role in our many successes throughout the years. We want to improve further in this area and through the new facility, we will be striving for even more success, with the new high-quality centre giving our Academies and Women’s team every opportunity to flourish.
“While we had opportunities to develop facilities elsewhere, Celtic was born and has been raised in the East End of the City. It was very important for us that we maintained this important presence in the local community, in a place dear to our hearts and a place where so many Celtic Legends have been made.”
Below is a list of some of the features of the new and improved Barrowfield Training Centre.
New indoor arena with a full-sized IFA-approved artificial surface
A combination of outdoor natural grass and artificial pitches
State-of-the-art gym & fitness facilities
Office areas for Celtic Academy & Celtic FC Women
New changing facilities
Medical suites for player treatment & rehab
Sports science centre
Analysis centre
Classroom/learning facilities
Celtic Manager, Brendan Rodgers added: “I think it’s really important for our women and the young players to have a facility that allows them to develop, especially in the more difficult winter months.
“Being indoors means greater coaching time and a stronger focus on development for the young players. It’s a great facility that players and staff can really look forward to being in.
“Players who come through your own system always give you that little bit more, that extra 1%. It’s vital that we have these players in our squad.
Celtic FC Women’s Manager Elena Sadiku said: “In terms of doing your best and being fully prepared as a team, it’s important to keep the quality high in everything we do – whether that’s media, analysis, or training sessions.
“Facilities like this leave no excuses for anyone; they make sure we deliver the best performances and are properly prepared for games.
“As head coach, having all of this means we can give the players the best preparation possible – to help them develop, get results at the weekend, and, most importantly, to create the conditions where the standards are high and they have to meet them. Overall, there are no excuses to be the best we can be.
Celtic Chief Executive Michael Nicholson added: “The new Barrowfield Centre will be vital in achieving two key elements of the club’s strategy, namely supporting young player development and delivering investment in women’s football. We are sure these new, high-quality facilities will be crucial in delivering real benefit to the Club for years to come across both the boys and girls academy structures and our women’s first team environment.
“So many Celtic heroes have followed the path from Barrowfield, through our academies to the Celtic first team and now, in this new setting, we hope to give our young players and Celtic FC Women even greater opportunities to excel and deliver continued success to the club and our supporters.”
Captain of Celtic FC Women, Kelly Clark, who has been a mainstay in the Women’s side for over a decade added: “The dome is a lot bigger than I expected it to be. It’s amazing that we have got somewhere we can come and do full, proper sessions when the weather isn’t great outside.
“There will be no more complaining about set-pieces in the middle of winter in the hail, wind, or snow. Now we can come in here with no excuses into a top-of-the-range facility, fresh out of the wrapper. I’m just so impressed I can’t lie”.
Callum McGregor, who came through the ranks of Celtic’s Academy as a youngster and has gone on to win 24 major honours with the club so far, added: “We have an amazing academy process that everyone goes through, which has to be elite all the time.
“Players come through the door nowadays at six, seven, eight years old where excellence is everything, and that’s what we want to achieve.
“The challenge is to get as many players as possible through to the first team. Being involved in high-level European football, we know the standard required so that needs to start as early as possible.
“The club has done great work in getting it ready so hopefully the players can enjoy it and we can continue to produce top level players.”
New era for Barrowfield as state of art training centre opens
New era for Barrowfield as state of art training centre opens
By justanordinarybhoy 20 September, 2025 1 Comment
New Barrowfields
New Barrowfields, image Celtic FC
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Celtic’s new training centre is great, but scouting and youth development has grown stale, and in dire need of an overhaul…
New Barrowfields
New Barrowfields, image Celtic FC
Celtic yesterday raised the curtains on the new all signing all dancing training facility on the old Barrowfield training site, and it looks mighty impressive it has to be said. The new site will host both the youth sides and Celtic FC Women’s team, boasting state of the art facilities that will only be of benefit to the club moving forward.
The club stated: Celtic Football Club is delighted to announce that the new state of the art Training Centre at Barrowfield is now complete, and the facility is now fully open for use by our Women’s team and Academies. The complex, which sits proudly in the heart of Glasgow’s East End, re-emphasises Celtic’s strategy of maintaining a strong commitment to both developing our own players and investing in women’s football, with the project representing the largest infrastructure investment by the Club since the redevelopment of Celtic Park in the late 1990s.
Three former Celtic captains, Paul McStay, Tom Boyd and Roy Aitken toured the newly redeveloped Barrowfield training centre, reflecting on past memories and looking ahead to its future – watch below.
Whilst it’s a positive move, there’s still plenty of room for improvement on all things Celtic, especially when it comes to the scouting and youth development aspect of the club. Having top class facilities will only work if we have the right cogs running the engine.
For many years now that area has been severely neglected by the club, which is telling in our grassroots track record, with only the likes of Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston contributing long term to first team success in the past 15 years.
Players like Colby Donovan and Dane Murray offer some hope as far as the current first team squad is concerned and both Academy players could feature tomorrow at Firhill.
The obvious reason for that is the severely lack of required number of coaches at grassroots level, with scouting also severely neglected. In total we have six registered scouts on the payroll, seven if you include Jay Lefevere who is the head of that network.
I don’t have the number of coaches at youth level to hand, but our set up is watched over by Chris McCart, Stevie Hammell, and Shaun Maloney. All experienced guys within the game, but surely we should have more of their ilk overseeing that level? Even the coaches and scouts in employment have either a connection to the club or know someone who does, a job for the Bhoys so to speak, which is something we’ve got to move away from.
Chris McCart has been around for ages, and his Motherwell connections no doubt helped him bring abroad Stevie Hammell, whilst as high rated as Shaun Maloney is in the coaching world, it would be naive to suggest that he would be in his current role had he no connection to the club whatsoever.
Academy of operations manager Brian Meehan has occupied his role for nigh on 20 years, and first joined the club way back in 1992, whilst the likes of Stephen McManus and Johnny Hayes will need no introduction. Even further down the ladder is a name some of you will remember in Mark McNally.
Celtic FC Women
Celtic FC Women. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)
What we need is a more competent youth set up, with an increased number of experienced coaches from all across the board. The same with scouting. Increase the numbers and cast our net far and wide searching for the best available talent.
After all what good is it having top class facilities if you don’t have the right talent to nurture? And a complete overhaul of our youth and scouting department will go a long way to rectifying that.
Elena Sadiku
Elena Sadiku, Celtic FC Women Head Coach. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)
As far as Celtic FC Women is concerned the new Barrowfields gives the squad a first class training base with the facilities matching Lennoxtown in all aspects and of course that have that full sided indoor dome. The plan seems to be to develop a home grown team which should see Celtic return to the top but this time with a team developed at Barrowfields.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy