Prince William nods to ex-Hibs star during Edinburgh visit to back homeless charity
The Prince of Wales has kicked off a partnership with a Scottish football charity and hinted that an Aston Villa favourite could join him for the next visit.
William joined a practice session run by Street Soccer Scotland, being backed by his Royal Foundation, which will fund a range of initiatives at the charity's branch in Leith.
The financial support from the foundation's Community Impact Project will also help the charity create Leith United - a collaboration with Leith Community Centre and YMCA Edinburgh.
The prince met YMCA user Shaniah Gilgun, aged 10, and learnt about her efforts with other youngsters to improve housing conditions in the area, but the conversation turned to football when he spotted a poster of Aston Villa.
Villa fan William mentioned the club's captain, who also leads the Scottish national side, telling Shaniah: "Maybe I should bring John McGinn...might have to wait till he retires - we'll put it in the pipeline."
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He added: "He promised me he would come up and show me around."
After asking a group of children about their football teams during his visit to the community centre, he said of son Prince Louis: "My youngest supports five different teams now."
(Image: Chris Jackson/pool/AFP/Getty)
Shaniah later mentioned William's praise for her housing campaign: "He said it was a really good thing and that we should keep doing it and only good will come out of it.
"When he mentioned John McGinn, I said, 'That's a deal'."
Street Soccer Scotland was founded by David Duke in Leith in 2009 before he opened centres across Scotland to deliver free football-themed training and personal development programmes to support people experiencing issues like poor mental health, addiction, homelessness and isolation.
(Image: Chris Jackson/PA Wire)
The charity will use the Royal Foundation grant to renovate Leith Community Centre, enhance sports-based initiatives at the site, enable outreach work in the community and fund an impact manager over three years to co-ordinate grassroots leaders and local partnerships.
During the visit William saw a range of groups who use the centre, from flamenco and kung fu classes to a group of amateur paintings who impressed the prince.
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Mr Duke, who is an official supporter of William's Homewards homeless initiative, said after the visit: "So obviously to have the support of the Royal Foundation is fantastic.
"Their vision is to try and create community impact and they're looking at places and spaces where they can create that."
He added: "It's about the long-term support from the wider Royal Foundation team, they can help us create almost a blueprint for change and they've already started working with us on a kind of theory of change, in terms of how we can use this space and the partnerships to make a difference."
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Scotsman
3 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Rangers advance - for now: The gas man saves day yet again against a regret-ridden foe
Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Just as Rangers' fuel levels started to dip into the reserve zone in the sweltering heat of Athens, up popped their new gas man. Djeidi Gassama had only been on the pitch three minutes when he showed brilliant technique to drill home a high angled ball into the Panathinaikos net on the hour mark. It restored parity in a match that was getting away from the Scottish side and permitted them progress into the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gassama, a £2.3million signing from Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month, is already repaying what many saw as already bargain buy. He netted three minutes into his debut last week, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in the first leg at Ibrox, and is fast showing his credentials as a super-sub. Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland celebrates the 1-1 draw in Athens against Panathinaikos. | SOOC/AFP via Getty Images The 21-year-old Frenchman will be a starter soon enough, once his fitness is up to speed. Perhaps even next week when Rangers' Champions League qualifying quest comes up against its next opponent in either Servette or Viktoria Plzen. This 1-1 draw in the Greek capital ensured a 3-1 aggregate victory over a Panathinaikos side left addled by regret. Rangers weren't very good in Greece. They passed sloppily, coughed up chances and rarely carried a goal-threat. They were indebted to some smart goalkeeping from Jack Butland but more so to some glaring inadequacies from their hosts, who not just in Athens but in Glasgow displayed profligacy in front of goal and softness at the back. Not that Rangers and their new head coach Russell Martin will grumble much. These are very early days for the boss and his players as he attempts to instil a fresh way of football in Govan. Some feared they would fall at the first hurdle but in a stadium that hosted the Olympics 21 years ago, they cleared it. Whatever technical deficiencies that were on show were cancelled out by grit, guts and determination. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We know why Rangers are work in progress - but that won't cut it in Champions League The likelihood is though that Rangers will need to raise the bar significantly if they are to reach the promised land. Their goal led a charmed life over the two legs and better teams than Panathinaikos lie in wait. Some explanation can be found in the fledgling nature of Martin's tenure, but the cut-throat environment of the Champions League won't mitigate for that The opening exchanges in Athens were similar to eight days ago in Glasgow. Panathinaikos started brighter, were crisper in possession and attacked with more intent. They forced Rangers into mistakes and just like at Ibrox, the Greeks failed to take advantage. By the ten-minute mark, Panathinaikos had forced a flurry of corners. Rangers stood up to an aerial bombardment but then so nearly turned the gun on themselves on 13 minutes when John Souttar left a long ball which Max Aarons dithered upon, allowing Facundo Pellistri to scamper clear into the visitors' penalty box. A heavy touch allowed Jack Butland to narrow the angle and the Uruguayan's shot was straight at him. Jack Butland is unable to stop Panathinaikos taking the lead. | SOOC/AFP via Getty Images Pellistri again misfired from a central position inside the box after Panathinaikos seized on some sloppiness from Nasser Djiga. Not helped by a poor bounce of the ball admittedly, but the ex-Man Utd man really ought to have at least hit the target. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Captain and No 9 Fotis Ioannidis did at least test Butland with a smart header that was just too central to cause any damage. With the exception of a few counter attacks, Rangers spent most of the game in survival mode. The visitors could not get a handle on proceedings and benefitted from their opponents being toothless when asked to sink their teeth into opportunities. Martin would therefore be happy for his team to enter the sheds with their clean sheet in tact. This was not a strong first-half performance from his team, riddled with disorganisation and stray passes. Six minutes of drama as Gassama saves day for Rangers The start of the second half followed a familiar pattern. Rangers could not keep the ball, Panathinaikos could not do anything noteworthy with it. By the 50th minute Rangers were already entering into a phase of game-management - time-wasting is what critics would call it. The home crowd booed in disapproval. 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Scottish Sun
3 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside secret party animal lifestyle of Harry Potter billionaire JK Rowling – as fearless women's champion turns 60
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Today there is much to celebrate for the author, who has even out-sold Shakespeare. Indeed, much like Prof Dumbledore, ageing is something she cherishes — recently blasting her fervent political opponents when she declared: 'I hate to disappoint, but you don't turn me into a quivering heap of anguish by telling me I am, or look, old. Advertisement 'I've lost too many people too young to feel anything but celebratory about still being around in my sixtieth year and, if you're lucky, you'll feel that way one day, too.' Despite guarding her home life fiercely, sharing it with her second husband Dr Neil Murray and their three children in a turreted 17th- century manor outside her native Edinburgh, those close enough to know her simply as 'Jo' describe her as 'incredibly good company, generous and a live wire when she wants to be', who 'will celebrate 60 in style'. 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But most significant is a big-budget reboot of the Harry Potter franchise, which began filming this month with a new cast of young actors, reimagining the books for a television series produced and financed by US TV giant HBO. Advertisement Scheduled for release in early 2027, it promises to bring the story of Hogwarts to a new generation of fans and will inevitably bring a vast new cash injection to her coffers. Indeed, she couldn't resist a jibe after news of the reported £100million deal sent her critics into a fit of fury — trolling her detractors with a post on X/Twitter, reminding them that the cheques 'still have my name on'. 6 One of Rowling's tweets last year hitting out at Scottish 'trans hate' law coming into effect Credit: Twitter/JK Rowling While she is undeniably divisive, JK's literary achievement remains a global juggernaut — and one which even Daniel Radcliffe admits has proven a force for good to millions of children. Advertisement She changed the world of publishing, and reignited a love of reading for a generation of kids more usually drawn to video games, and turned a boarding school fantasy into a multi-billion-pound universe that defined a generation. Her stories taught children about courage, loss, loyalty and the power of words. She also made being a bookworm something to be proud of, with millions of young fans proudly dressing up as her characters annually for World Book Day. Perhaps that's the perfect birthday gift for the woman who has everything — whatever her detractors may say. Advertisement Friend to many and A hero to millions By Julie Bindel, activist and friend of JK Rowling FIRST, she brings magic to millions upon millions of children, then she sets up charities to alleviate child poverty and suffering in countries most people in the West do not concern themselves with. Then she sees that women – and some men – are being pilloried, maligned, sacked from their jobs and expelled from college courses for saying that men (including predatory, convicted child rapists) should not be allowed in female-only spaces and facilities. Next, she becomes involved in opposing the men's rights movement known as gender ideology. Never, ever bigoted against transgender people or anyone wishing to live differently from the norm, her eye is only on keeping women and children safe from rape, domestic violence, stalking and harassment. When trans activists and their allies wilfully misconstrue her words, Jo writes an essay, made public on her website, in which she reveals herself to be a survivor of sexual assault and domestic abuse, and explains that this is why she understands the need to condemn these acts and keep women and girls safe. Jo is the best friend imaginable, and her unwavering support and concern for the suffering of others will never be made public. The 'be kind' brigade are shouting into the abyss about one of the kindest human beings I have ever met. When women have been forced to defend legal cases of terrible discrimination against them simply for knowing the difference between a man claiming to be a woman and an actual woman, my friend JK set up a fund to finance them. Unlike the vast majority of heterosexuals, she has gone out of her way to support lesbians. So happy birthday, Jo! Women like you – who make the world a better, safer place for women and girls, and for gays and lesbians – come along once in a lifetime. Thank goodness you did. Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Jim Goodwin on Dundee United transfer 'reality' as he defends signing policy
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