Latest news with #RefugeeWorldCupScotland2025
Glasgow Times
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Refugee World Cup set to take place in Glasgow this weekend
The Refugee World Cup Scotland 2025 will feature around 250 players from 50 different nations competing at the Toryglen Regional Football Centre on Sunday, June 29, from 12pm to 5pm. Organised by the charity Glasgow Afghan United, the event brings together players, including refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and people born and raised in Scotland. The Refugee World Cup Scotland 2025 is supported by Wheatley Group, a housing, care, and property-management group. Read more: Scotland's top travel show returns to SEC in February 2026 Major plans revealed for Glasgow's Buchanan Galleries after demolition axed Manager leaves Rangers with compensation paid to secure her services The tournament was launched at Hampden by Cammy Bell, a former Scotland, Rangers, and Kilmarnock goalkeeper, and now a Wheatley Group development project officer. He was joined by ex-Celtic and Republic of Ireland player Pat Bonner. Mr Bell said: "I'm delighted to lend my support to the Refugee World Cup Scotland tournament and look forward to witnessing the positive impact it has had and will continue to have on the lives of those it touches. "Football is a great way to bring communities together, to build friendships and communities, and I'm sure this tournament will help new Scots to integrate into Scottish life." Councillor Abdul Bostani, managing director of Glasgow Afghan United FC, and organiser of the tournament, said: "The Refugee World Cup Scotland is, above all, a celebration of football and community. "But it's also a powerful reminder of our shared humanity. "This tournament is an invitation to see refugees not as statistics, but as individuals. "It's about fostering empathy, understanding, and inclusion, values that have long defined Scotland and the UK as welcoming nations." Steven Henderson, chief executive at Wheatley Group, said: "This is an important event that celebrates the diversity of communities in Scotland through football while supporting the rights of refugees. "We are committed to supporting community initiatives like this, and I encourage everyone to mark their calendars and come along on the day to support this event."
Scotsman
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Former Rangers 'keeper on moment that "killed" his career - and who he thinks should be No.1 at Ibrox
Cammy Bell at the Hampden launch of the Refugee World Cup Scotland 2025 tournament (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) Jack Butland or Liam Kelly – or someone else? One of a number of debates at Ibrox this summer 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... The clip has been viewed over 250,000 times since the official Motherwell FC account posted footage of the second leg of their play-off tie five years ago. Every year, on what's become known as 'Cammy Bell day', it gets re-shared. Last month, on 31 May, there was particular interest. It was the 10th anniversary of the day in question, when Bell punched a deflected shot from Marvin Johnson into his own net, with Rangers going on to lose their Premiership play-off final against Motherwell in embarrassingly comprehensive fashion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As ever, there's some context behind the story that tends to be forgotten. Bell was about to get married but he can't pretend that is why he momentarily lost the flight of the ball on that grisly Sunday afternoon. A more credible explanation is the knee injury diagnosis that he was being forced to manage at the time. Rangers 'keeper Cammy Bell can't believe he has failed to stop a deflected, looping shot from Motherwell's Marvin Johnson in the second leg of their Premiership play-off final in 2015 "It was difficult in my situation because the Motherwell game I actually played with an injury,' recalls Bell, who is now a pundit as well as running a glamping business in Dumfries and Galloway. 'I needed an operation, so it was a double dunter for me in terms of the next season. I'd made a mistake and needed an op. 'These are the things that people aren't aware of. I played the Motherwell game while needing injections to get through that game. I had a microfracture in my knee. It was about August before I actually got the operation and then faced a six-month long rehab.' By this time, of course, he'd firmly lost his place. Wes Foderingham had been signed from Swindon Town. The next time he played at first team game it was the beginning of the following season – for Dundee United. Recovery from the operation had obviously been an issue but he also knew it was a long way back when it came to regaining the trust of Rangers fans. He never made it back. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Really, when I reflect now, did it kill my Rangers career? It absolutely did,' he says. 'And it was just the fact that I didn't have the opportunity to go straight back in and play a game. Wes came in and was a fantastic goalie for Rangers.' Despite some high-profile mistakes, Jack Butland had been backed to claim the Rangers No.1 shirt back (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) Why all this is relevant again now is that the Ibrox side are again at a crossroads when it comes to 'keepers. Although then Rangers manager Mark Warburton's hand was forced due to Bell's injury, he knew he needed a quality challenger for the No 1 position, hence Foderingham's recruitment. Current manager Russell Martin, meanwhile, has inherited an intriguing dilemma. Who is the No.1 at Rangers? Jack Butland or Liam Kelly? Or is it a case of recruiting someone else entirely? Butland is of course the higher earner and the one who might be expected to be the first choice. However, faith in him has been shaken by a series of high-profile mistakes. This eventually led to interim manager Barry Ferguson replacing him with Kelly, who finished the season in possession of the goalkeeper's jersey. Ferguson is no longer in such a position of power so Kelly will know that both 'keepers start with a clean sheet under Martin. But impressing the new manager – or head coach – is one thing. The fans are another. Have they already made up their minds with regards to Butland? He was dropped after Dylan Levitt's effort from the edge of the box squirmed underneath him in the 2-0 defeat to Hibs at the start of April. A week earlier he had spilt a header from Joe Shaugnessy, with the Dundee skipper duly sweeping in the rebound. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bell can empathise although at least Butland is currently fit and has a chance to rectify the situation, something he was denied. 'Jack Butland's in a different scenario,' he says. 'Yes, he's made a few mistakes, of course he has and he knows that himself. But he's got the opportunity to work hard pre-season, become Russell Martin's No.1 and prove to Rangers fans that he's good enough.' 'It's massively difficult,' he adds. 'You're always reminded of those moments. Jack Butland will have that too. As a person, he needs to get over it and I'm pretty sure he has. He recognises he had a difficult season last season and that's probably the most important thing – that he knows that that's happened. 'It's about how he rectifies that, how he gets back to the training ground and works hard. The only way he can turn it around is by getting back in the team and playing games because that's how you restore faith in a person. It's by getting back in the team, being consistent again. 'Because we know he can do it. He's just had a bad period and I always think as a goalkeeper when you go through that rut, it generally comes in two threes and fours. We've seen it with Allan McGregor in his last season. He had a lot of mistakes and there were question marks over him. But again, he's got big broad shoulders and he got on with it and he made some incredible European displays that season.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I think Jack Butland will be working really hard this summer because he'll want to be Rangers No.1. He'll want to start the season well. He's got a new opportunity with a new manager as well. It's a big summer for him.' For what it's worth, Bell believes Butland should be reinstated as No 1, although he will have to prove he is worth it in pre-season. 'At this moment in time, yeah,' he says. 'Unless there's a different option that comes in and somebody that's more suited to Russell Martin's style. But as a goalkeeper, making big saves, I think Jack Butland's got all the tools to do it.'
