Celtic B are the reserve team of Celtic Football Club. They play home games in Airdrie and compete in the Lowland League. Celtic have run a reserve side since the early days of the club, comprising a combination of emerging youth players and first-team squad players. The current "B" side forms the highest level of the academy structure at Celtic, beneath which there are four junior strands: Professional Academy (Under 18s), Intermediate Academy (Under 13s, 14s, 15s & 16s), Junior Academy (Under 10s, 11s & 12s) and Development Centres (five years old and above).
Contents
History of reserve and youth football
Reserve football
Celtic ran a reserve side from their early days, known at the time as the Crusaders. Other clubs in the 1880s also gave their reserve sides distinctive names, with Rangers calling their Second XI the Swifts, and Queens Park naming their reserves the Strollers.
Celtic's first known involvement in reserve league football, was their participation in the Scottish Combination league in 1896. Several Scottish League clubs fielded 2nd XIs ('A' sides), as well as Queens Park Strollers. However, by the 1900s Celtic manager Willie Maley was only using a small, if versatile, squad of players, and the decision was made to stop fielding a reserve team altogether. In 1909, a new Scottish Reserve League was set up, again often including at least one non-reserve side of a non-league club in each of its seasons. Celtic did not participate. The league was disbanded during World War I, but effectively re-established in 1919 as the Scottish Alliance League. As with previous incarnations, this reserve league also contained the first XI of several non-league sides. Celtic took part for the first few seasons, and won the championship in 1921–22, however withdrew again after that for what is presumed were financial reasons. This appeared an unwise decision. Rangers went on to dominate Scottish football in the 1920s, and Celtic appeared to struggle without a reserve team to help blend younger players into the club's first team.
The club did re-introduce a reserve team in 1930, and won three Alliance championships in 1934, 1937 and 1938, and the Second XI Cup in 1935 and 1936. Malky MacDonald, Johnny Crum, George Paterson, Jimmy Delaney, John Divers and Willie Buchan all emerged during this time from the reserve side and went on to form the nucleus of the Celtic first team that won the league championship in 1936 and 1938, and the Scottish Cup in 1937. In 1936, Celtic fielded trialist Mohammed Salim in two Alliance league matches, with him becoming the first footballer from the Indian sub-continent to play for a European club. A league AGM in 1938, resulted in the non-league sides being removed and the league became exclusive to First Division reserve sides. The advent of World War II, however, once again saw the suspension of national reserve league football in Scotland, although regional leagues were set up.
The national Reserve League restarted at the end of the war, once again mirroring the sixteen club top-tier division. The subsequent years into the 1950s saw various changes to the leagues, but Celtic's achievements at reserve level were undistinguished, with two fourth-place finishes in 1952 and 1954 their highest positions. The Scottish (Reserve) League was set up in 1955, again mirroring the First Division although there were a number of seasons when not all of those clubs took part. This set-up, with minor variations, continued up until 1975. Jock Stein's appointment in 1957 as reserve team coach saw an upturn in Celtic's commitment to reserve team football. Future star players such as Paddy Crerand, Billy McNeill, John Clark and Bertie Auld all emerged at Celtic during this time. The reserves won the Second XI Cup in 1958 (thrashing Rangers 8–2 on aggregate) and the reserve league title a year later. From 1958 up to 1966, Celtic also fielded a reserve side (effectively a 3rd XI) in the Combined Reserve League. Although Stein left in 1960 to manage Dunfermline Athletic, promising players continued to emerge from the reserves, such as Bobby Murdoch, Jimmy Johnstone and George Connelly.
Youth football
A Youth Division was set by the Scottish League in 1993 and ran until 2012. This was an Under-18 league initially, but changed to Under-19s from 2003 onwards. Celtic Youths won the league for four consecutive seasons from 2002–03 to 2005–06.
The Scottish Youth Cup was set up in 1984 and open to all senior clubs in Scotland. It was initially an U19 tournament, but is now for U20 sides. Celtic are historically the most successful club in the competition, winning 14 finals. The Glasgow Cup was for many years considered an important trophy for first-team sides in Glasgow, but by the 1980s had lost prestige and saw Celtic and Rangers usually fielding reserve sides. Due to lack of interest in the tournament as a senior competition, it was relaunched in 1989 as a youth tournament and is currently competed for by the U17 sides of senior league clubs in Glasgow.
Celtic B
As of 1 October 2026
Note: squad numbers listed relate only to first team numbers. In "B" (or youth) matches, the team wear 1–11.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Academy
The Celtic Youth Academy works with players from as young as five years of age, concentrating in early years on improving players technique, passing and possession. Players are actively encouraged to demonstrate their skills, including tricks and flicks, in match situations. The academy also works in partnership with St Ninian's High School in Kirkintilloch, where players of secondary-school age benefit from nine coaching sessions per week.
The most promising players then progress to Celtic's Development Squad programme.
In 2017, the Celtic academy was one of eight across the country designated 'elite' status on the introduction of Project Brave, an SFA initiative to concentrate the development of the best young players at a smaller number of clubs with high quality facilities and coaching than was previously the case.
The youth academy currently comprises four levels: Professional Academy (Under 18s), Intermediate Academy (Under 13s, 14s, 15s & 16s), Junior Academy (Under 10s, 11s & 12s) and Development Centres (five years old and above).
On 23 November 2023, Celtic Soccer Academy announced that a partnership with Get Gung Ho FC from Singapore, providing the support of the soccer academy to help develop their players, coaches and programmes over the next three years.
Facilities
Since 2007, the club's academy and reserve sides have trained at the Lennoxtown Training Centre. In 2019, Celtic announced plans to redevelop their older Barrowfield training ground in eastern Glasgow near Celtic Park for use by the academy sides and their women's team, including an indoor pitch and a matchday venue, augmenting the Lennoxtown base which would continue to be used by the first team squad.
In July 2021, it was announced that the men's B-team (as well as the women's team) would play the majority of their home fixtures in 2021–22 at Airdrie's Penny Cars Stadium.
Honours
Reserves
League
Scottish Reserve League: 9
1895–96, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71
Premier Reserve League: 5
1979–80, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1994–95
SPL Reserve League: 5
2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
Scottish Alliance: 4
1921–22, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1937–38
Cup
Scottish 2nd FA XI Cup: 8
1890–91, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1957–58, 1965–66, 1970–71, 1973–74, 1984–85
Reserve League Cup: 13
1959–60, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96
Other
Kilsyth Charity Cup: 1
1889
Jock Stein Friendship Cup: 9
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
John Reames Trophy: 1
2010
GFR Challenge Cup: 1
2019
Youths
Domestic
SFL/SPL Youth League: 9
1995, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012
SPFL U20 League: 3
2013, 2014, 2016
SPFL U19 League: 1
2013
SPFL/CAS U17 League:
2015, 2016, 2017
Scottish Youth Cup: 15
1984, 1987, 1989, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017
SPFL U19 League Cup: 1
2014
Glasgow Cup: 11 (Youth competition since 1990)
1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
International
Blues Stars / FIFA Youth Cup: 1
1986
HKFC International Soccer Sevens: 1
2009
Super Cup NI (U19): 1
2018
Notes
Former youth team players
Players in Bold have senior international caps