Celtic will be back in the Tennent’s Sixes this autumn after the famous indoor tournament was revived with the official backing of the SPFL.
Every Scottish Premiership club, including Celtic, have signed up for the legends competition, which will take place at Braehead Arena on the weekend of October 3 and 4.
For Celtic supporters who remember the original tournament, the format needs little introduction.
The Sixes became a fixture of the Scottish football calendar during its nine-year run between 1984 and 1993, with players swapping the usual winter conditions for the rather different surroundings of the indoor arena.
Celtic were regular participants and lifted the trophy in 1992, with midfielder John Collins part of the winning team.
The original competition was generally played each January, but the revived version has been given an October slot and will feature players from the recent past representing their former clubs.
They will also wear their clubs’ official kits for the current season, the SPFL have revealed.
That immediately raises the question of who Celtic will send to Braehead.
There is no shortage of potential candidates from recent years, although six-a-side football on an indoor pitch might quickly establish which former Hoops still have the legs for it!
The competition itself will begin on the Saturday with three regionalised groups of four teams.
The winners and runners-up from each section will advance to the knockout rounds, joined by the two best third-placed sides.
There will be no drawn matches either. Games level at the end of normal time will go to a penalty shootout, with a bonus point awarded for a shootout victory.
The sin bin, another feature supporters will associate with the Sixes, is also returning.
The entire weekend will be shown live on Premier Sports, giving those unable to make it to Braehead the chance to watch Celtic’s former players pull on the Hoops again.
For supporters of a certain generation, the appeal is obvious.
The original Tennent’s Sixes belonged to a very particular period of Scottish football, when an indoor tournament involving the country’s leading clubs could occupy a prominent place in the calendar.
Bringing it back with all 12 Premiership clubs involved should provide a decent mixture of nostalgia and competition.
It also gives younger supporters and families the chance to see Celtic players from the recent past in person rather than solely through old footage.
Now attention turns to the Celtic squad.
There should be plenty of familiar names available. Whether they are quite as enthusiastic about testing their legs over two days of frantic six-a-side football is another matter.
Tickets are available to buy HERE.
Keep Reading
