Not just a man's game at Celtic

It will also incorporate the Celtic ladies senior side, which will represent the Parkhead outfit in the Scottish Women's Premier League.

The move follows Celtic's acquisition of Arsenal North Ladies Football Club, which is based in the east end of Glasgow but has no affiliation to the London club whose name it bears.

The ladies club, which has been running for six years, fields five sides and the senior team plays in the Scottish Women's Leagues. The players, though, will now swap their red, white, yellow and blue strips for the familiar green and white hoops of Celtic.

The girls' academy comes under the umbrella of the Celtic Foundation and will be run by Robert Docherty. "Celtic was founded on the principles of inclusiveness and providing opportunities," he said. "The Celtic Foundation works in a number of different areas, including charitable and community projects. We looked at the current structure, and in particular for gaps in what we do, and women and girls' football represented a gap."

As a result, they approached Arsenal North and Docherty added: "It is an east end club with a lot of local, east end players, who we know very well. The club has been run very successfully for the last six years. It was a case of meeting up with them and discussing the opportunities to take this forward."

The academy will have three distinct parts: the Celtic Girls Community Academy for girls aged between five and 12; the Youth Academy for those in the 13-19 age bracket; and the senior squad.

Docherty said: "I've been asked if the motivation behind the academy is commercial, and I can categorically say no'. This is about our programme of social inclusion. The academy will provide an exciting and challenging coaching and games programme I'm sure will attract, retain and motivate those females involved."

Celtic Ladies will play their home games at Barrowfield in the east end of Glasgow and at the club's new £12m training ground in Lennoxtown.

Their derby rivals will not be Rangers, as the Ibrox club does not have its own ladies team. Glasgow City Ladies, who play on Glasgow Green, will be their main rivals within the city.

Women's football is the fastest-growing sport in Scotland and, according to FIFA, 26 million women worldwide regularly play football.

Kayleigh Cameron, 21, a mother-of-one and university student, is a midfielder with the new Celtic senior side and also coaches under-15 girls.

"There have always been girls playing football, but now the leagues are structured better," she said. "In the past they were run by small committees, but the SFA has become involved in the women's premier league.

"A couple of junior clubs have taken women's teams under their wings, but this is the first major club in Scotland to do so. Some others have provided kit and limited support to clubs, but this is comprehensive.

"You would hope the affiliation with Celtic would raise our profile, and not just among family, friends and boyfriends, but among a wider audience.

"Nevertheless, we will still have to prove it's a standard worth watching."

Tommy Burns, head of youth development at Parkhead, said of the academy: "It's something Robert Docherty, who heads the community programme, put in place. He's done a remarkable job as now we have 6000 going through it every week.

"What has irked him is being asked when are facilities for girls starting?', so he has opted to run one for the girls alongside the boys and I think it's a fantastic idea. It's exciting because the community programme encourages people to come in and play football. This will help take the profile on to the next level."

Elaine C Smith, the actress and comic, is the patron of the women's football academy. She said: "It will give a much needed boost to the women's game. With the number of women watching football matches at Celtic Park increasing, it's fantastic that they too now have the opportunity to participate and play for their team."