The Next Gen Series will be screened on Eurosport this season as the groundbreaking youth tournament grows in stature and popularity.
Twenty four teams are taking part in the competition with Real Madrid, Arsenal, CSKA Moscow and Chelsea joining last season’s pioneers.
Europsport will provide regular highlights packages from the matches with the first live match coming from White Hart Lane on September 13 when Spurs host Barcelona.
As the leading academy in Scotland Celtic have been involved in the Next Gen project from the start with a Celtic v Liverpool match two years providing a dummy run for the launch of the tournament. Amongst the Celtic side for that match was Tony Watt, then a trialist from Airdrie, who went on to score home and away last season against Barcelona using the Next Gen Series to accelerate his development into Neil Lennon’s first team plans.
Watt will be on Scotland duty on Thursday night when Celtic open their campaign against Sporting Lisbon at Firhill in a game that will provide a great benchmark for the emerging crop of Celtic kids.
Without doubt one of the highlights of last season was watching Celtic take Manchester City apart at Ewan Fields with the 4-2 scoreline flattering the Premiership side. A week later Joe Chalmers, Marcus Fraser, Callum McGregor and Paul George were on Europa League duty with the first team in Rennes.
Despite losing their opening two matches to Marseilles and Barcelona Celtic turned on the style and with John Herron, Tony Watt on target alongsidea double from Paul George.
Celtic team v Man City: Robbie Thomson; Mikey Miller, Jackson Irvine, Marcus Fraser, Joe Chalmers; John Herron (Bahrudin Atajic 77), Filip Twardzik (Rhys Murrell-Williamson), Dylan McGeouch, Callum McGregor, Paul George (P Twardzik 70); Tony Watt. Subs not used: Nick Feely, Stuart Findlay, Omar Bogle, James Alabi.
Less than a year later McGeouch, Watt, Twardzik, Chalmers, Fraser and Irvine have gone on to make their competitive debut for the first team.
Celtic will be without Watt and McGeouch on Thursday night but that will give Bahrudin Atajic and Callum McGregor the chance to show that they can play in the same company with McGregor playing for over an hour in last months friendly against Real Madrid.
Portuguese football is acknowledged as being among the most prolific when it comes to developing young footballers with the Sporting academy responsible for Christiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and dozens more that have graced the international stage.
Already the Sporting crop of 2012 have won convincingly 3-1 away to Aston Villa. Last season they lost out to eventual winners Inter Milan in the quarter finals but romped through their group with 16 points out of 18 including a 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield followed by a 5-1 win at home.
Anyone who went to watch last season’s Next Gen Series didn’t leave dissapointed with the quality of the games higher than the average SPL affair.
With Celtic relocating the matches to Firhill there should be a great atmosphere with the pitch in top condition for Jackie McNamara’s table toppers.
VideoCelt’s will be multitasking the action through twitter but any supporter that values watching their football played with style and passion is in for a great night’s entertainment and appetiser for the Champions League ties coming up.
Entry to the match is £5 and £2 for concessions payable at the turnstile.Â
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