Celtic confirm two more friendlies as Irish and Portuguese opposition join AC Milan on pre-season schedule

The double winners previously announced that they would face AC Milan at Celtic Park on Saturday, July 25 in a final warm-up ahead of the new Scottish Premiership season starting the following week.

It has now been confirmed that the Premiership and Scottish Cup champions will take on Irish Premier Division side Shelbourne on Saturday, July 7 at Tolka Park in Drumcondra, Dublin.

The game marks the fourth year in a row that Celtic have scheduled a game in Ireland. The Hoops drew 1-1 with Wolves at the Aviva Stadium in July 2023 then returned for a mid-season bounce game during the autumn international break in 2024, beating Sligo Rovers 3-2, before returning last year for a 2-1 friendly win over Cork City at the iconic GAA venue, Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Celtic last visited Shelbourne 18 years ago when a development XI were sent to Dublin for a midweek summer fixture. The last first-team trip to Tolka Park was in 2002 when goals from John Hartson (2), Didier Agathe, and Chris Sutton secured a 4-1 victory.

The Celtic manager that day, Martin O’Neill, is set to be confirmed as the club’s new permanent head coach after leading the side to a silverware double across two spells as interim head coach last season.

Another friendly has been scheduled against Sporting Lisbon on Saturday, July 14. The Hoops will head out to Portugal for a training camp which will culminate in a match against the Primeira Liga runners-up at the Estadio Algarve near Faro.

The match is a repeat of last summer’s friendly clash at the same venue which Celtic won 2-0 with goals from Reo Hatate and Luke McCowan.

A Celtic statement read: "Portugal is the perfect destination to prepare for a season in which the club will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the historic 1966/67 season throughout the forthcoming campaign."

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