SOME TEAMS HAVE ALL THE LUCK
Sir Rod pledges cash support for struggling club
HE is devoted to Celtic Football Club and Scotland’s national team.
But now Sir Rod Stewart has thrown his weight behind a less well-known football side – Glasgow Perthshire.
The singer has even pledged to help the club financially.
The Shire, based in Possilpark, Glasgow, are a mid-table team in one of the lower ranks of the West of Scotland Football League.
The club exists on a shoestring budget and struggles to make ends meet, even though none of the players or management is paid for their services.
They hope Sir Rod’s support could lead to other backers getting involved with sponsorship.
In a club video, Sir Rod proudly holds up a team jersey as he says: ‘This is Rod Stewart, come and join the Shire membership.
‘This is a proper football team, and I am going to send them some financial support.’
He then lifts the jersey over his head and says: ‘Up the Shire!’
It is unclear how much Sir Rod is to invest, but vice-president Paul McLaughlin last night said it was ‘great news for everyone’.
Mr McLaughlin said the association came about after Sir Rod met John McLaughlin – no relation – a successful singer, songwriter and producer, who supports the club.
He added: ‘He and his writing partner Gordon Goudie have written songs which are played at Celtic Park and on Celtic TV.
‘Rod Stewart heard them over the years and inquired about the music. This led to him and John going to Celtic games together.
‘John plays in a Glasgow band called Johnny Mac and the Faithful. When Rod heard them, he signed them up as his support act for his last world tour.’
Mr McLaughlin said the band has been booked again for Sir Rod’s world tour which is planned for next year.
Mr McLaughlin added: ‘Gordon Goudie is a Shire fan so I asked him if he could ask John to ask Rod about supporting a new community initiative which allows our fans free entry to all league games.
‘Rod was delighted to help and on Saturday, before heading for the Scottish Cup semi-final, he met John in Buchanan Street, Glasgow to autograph Shire jerseys for fund-raising purposes, and to make a short video to announce his backing.’
Born in Highgate, North London, Sir Rod grew up supporting Scotland and Celtic due to his Scottish father. He is a regular at Celtic Park, and presented the Scottish League Cup to the team in 2015.
‘This is a proper football team’