Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club (simply known as Celtic) is a South African amateur football club based in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape ...

that competes in the

ABC Motsepe League ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, the third tier of the South African football league system. Bloemfontein Celtic has a large fan base in the Free State. Its supporters were known as ''Siwelele''. The team plays its home matches in Siwelele Park Ground. The club sold its franchise to

Royal AM Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

before the start of the 2021–22 South African Premier Division season.

History

The club was founded by Norman Mathobisa and Victor Mahatane in 1969. They administered the club until the early 1980s when financial challenges forced them to sell the club to Petrus "Whitehead" Molemela. In November 2001, after the relegation of ''Phunya Sele Sele'', Molemela sold his shares in the club to Demetri "Jimmy" Augousti, a former Celtic player. After only three years out of the top-flight, the club regained its PSL status with an impressive season in 2003–04 when they were crowned First Division champions. They also managed to win the 2005

SAA Supa 8 MTN 8 is the current branding for a South African soccer cup competition launched in 1972 for teams who finished in the top 8 positions of the league table of the country's preceding top-flight league (currently the DStv Premiership) season. ...

and the 2007 Telkom Charity Cup. In 2009 they formed a partnership with Portuguese club

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional fo ...

, that included the creation of a youth academy, based in the capital of the Free State. Max Tshabalala, who also owns Roses United, took over from Augousti on 21 July 2014.

Honours

*Mainstay Cup: 1985 * MTN8/SAA Sup 8 Cup **Winners (1): 2005 **''Runners-up'':

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

*Telkom Charity Cup: 2007 *First Division Inland Stream: 2003–04 *Telkom Knockout:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Charity Showdown: 2014 *

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...

**''Runners-up'': 2019–2020

Club records

*Most starts: Willem Vries 306 *Most goals:

Benjamin Reed Benjamin Reed (born 2 October 1961) is a retired South African football (soccer) midfielder who played for Bloemfontein Celtic his whole career. He is the all-time top goalscorer for Bloemfontein Celtic Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club (si ...

75 *Most capped player: Lehlohonolo Seema *Most starts in a season: Jeffrey Lekgetla 39 (1992) *Most goals in a season: Troy Saila 20 (1987) *Record victory: 8–0 vs

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

(26/2/14,

) *Record defeat: 0–6 vs

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chi ...

(29/3/91, NSL)

Premier Soccer League record

* 1996–97 – 10th * 1997–98 – 12th * 1998–99 – 7th * 1999–00 – 14th * 2000–01 – 17th * 2004–05 – 8th * 2005–06 – 10th * 2006–07 – 8th * 2007–08 – 11th * 2008–09 – 14th * 2009–10 – 6th *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

– 5th * 2011–12 – 8th *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

– 5th * 2013–14 – 6th * 2014–15 – 7th * 2015–16 – 11th * 2016–17 – 12th * 2017–18 – 11th * 2018–19 – 8th * 2019-20 – 8th *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

– 11th

Club officials/technical team

*Chairman: Max Tshabalala *MD: Rali Ramabodu *CEO: Khumbulani Konco *Team manager:

John Maduka John Maduka (born 27 September 1970 in Thyolo) is a retired Malawian footballer. He used to play for Bloemfontein Celtic until his retirement in 2009. He is currently the head coach of Durban, Chartswoth based club Royal AM F.C. Career John Mad ...

*Coach: Lehlohonolo Seema *Goalkeeper coach: Andre Bronkhorst *Head of youth development: Molefi Ntseki *Sports Scientist: Molaoa Pakiso

First team squad

Current squad

Out on loan

Kit manufacturer

*Kit manufacturer:

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 10 ...

Chairmen

* Norman Mathobisa and Victor Mahatanya (1969–1984) * Petros Molemela (1984 – November 2001) * Jimmy Augousti (November 2001 – 21 July 2014) * Max Tshabalala (21 July 2014 – 22 July 2014) * Khumo Molahlehi (23 July 2014 – present)

Coaches

Paul Dolezar Pavle Dolezar also known as Paul Dolezar and Paja Dolezar (, born 1 May 1944) is a Serbian football manager and former player. He was born in Yugoslavia and raised in France. Born in Bačka Palanka,"Asovi Yu Fudbala", page 23 SR Serbia, back th ...

(2005–06) *

Tony De Nobrega Antonio "Tony" De Nobrega (born 2 February 1969 in Cape Town) is a South African football (soccer) coach who currently manages National First Division club Vasco da Gama. He managed Premier Soccer League club Bloemfontein Celtic Bloemfontein ...

(2006–07) * Khabo Zondo (1 July 2007 – 9 April 2008) * David Modise ''(interim)'' (April 2008 – 8 June) * Mich d'Avray (1 July 2008 – 27 December 2008) * Owen Da Gama (28 Dec 2008 – 30 June 2010) * Clinton Larsen (9 Aug 2010 – 7 October 2013) *

Ernst Middendorp Ernst Middendorp (born 28 October 1958) is a German association football coach who coaches South African Premier Soccer League club Maritzburg United. Education Middendorp was born in Freren. In 1984, he enrolled in the University of Bielefel ...

(11 Oct 2013 – 15 December 2014) * Clinton Larsen (15 Dec 2014–2015) *Serame Letsoaka ( 3 Dec 2015–30 Oct 2016) *John Maduka & Lehlohonolo Seema(interim)(30 Oct 2016–3 Jul 2017) *Veselin Jelusic (3 July 2017 – 14 June 2018) *Steve Khompela ( 20 June 2018–27 Dec 2018) *Lehlohonolo Seema (28 Dec 2018– 5 Jul 2020) *John Maduka (6 July 2020–present)

References

External links

*
Premier Soccer LeaguePSL Club InfoSouth African Football AssociationConfederation of African Football
{{Premier Soccer League teamlist Association football clubs established in 1969 Soccer clubs in South Africa Soccer clubs in the Free State (province) Premier Soccer League clubs Bloemfontein National First Division clubs 1969 establishments in South Africa