Graeme Souness returns to coaching in Scotland
Graeme Souness has stepped back into a coaching role for the first time in two decades, making an emotional return to grassroots football in Scotland, reports BritPanorama.
The 72-year-old former Liverpool star visited Easthouse Lily Miners Welfare FC this week, announcing that the club had secured a £2,000 grant through Flutter UK and Ireland’s Cash4Clubs initiative.
Souness led a training session for the team, which operates in one of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities. His visit was a significant homecoming, having last occupied a dugout twenty years prior before transitioning to his broadcasting career.
He expressed admiration for the authentic spirit found in community-level football. “This is the real deal when you come down to this level,” Souness remarked. “They’re doing it for the love of the game, for the love of their community. It doesn’t get any better than this. Everyone’s here for the right reason.”
The Cash4Clubs programme attracted nearly 1,500 applications from community organisations and charities for its 2025-2026 funding round, with successful recipients extending beyond football to include a roller derby club, a walking netball group in Manchester, and a boxing class in Derby.
Approximately half of this year’s funding recipients are situated in economically deprived areas of the UK and Ireland, with grants allocated for a variety of activities, including yoga, swimming, and wheelchair sports. Notably, 60 per cent of grants will assist clubs that work with individuals facing mental health challenges.
Team manager David McQueenie described the funding as essential for the club’s survival, stating, “We’re a voluntary run club in a deprived area so this money will help us survive it’s as simple as that. Especially for our older spectators who rely on us as a focus in life.”
McQueenie expressed astonishment at hosting such a decorated figure as Souness, saying, “To have Graeme Souness along to our club is just incredible. The things that Graeme’s done in the game are absolutely fantastic. The lads couldn’t believe it.”
As Souness embraces this new chapter, his return to coaching at such a grassroots level highlights the enduring connection between community and sport, reminding us that even the greats find rejuvenation in the uncomplicated joy of the game.
