With A Ton of European Contacts, McGuinness Takes Over Scouting At Columbus Crew SC
Columbus Crew SC has named Neil McGuinness as the club’s Director of Scouting. McGuinness recently served as a Senior Player Recruiter for the Qatar Football Association and as the First Team Senior Scout for Celtic Football Club of the Scottish Premiership.
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Neil McGuinness has been named Director of Scouting for Columbus Crew SC of Major League Soccer (MLS).
“Neil brings a vast array of experience at the highest level of world soccer and I believe he will be a great addition to our Technical Staff,” said Tim Bezbatchenko, Columbus Crew SC President
“The wide contact network that Neil established during his time in Europe will be a great asset to the Club and will help us in our quest to continue to challenge for titles.”
McGuinness joins Crew SC following a four-year stint with the Qatar Football Association. From 2015-2018, McGuiness served as the federation’s Senior Player Recruiter and was responsible for the identification and recruitment of Qatar National Team players.
McGuinness was also a scout for Qatar’s Aspire Academy and served as a consultant to teams in the top divisions of England, France, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
In addition, McGuinness served as the First Team Senior Scout for Celtic Football Club of the Scottish Premiership before his role with Qatar Football Association.
At Celtic FC, McGuinness was in charge of first-team player scouting and recruitment internationally, while also covering all opposition analysis during European competition, including the UEFA Champions League.
McGuinness joins a competitive Columbus side that has advanced to the MLS Conference Semifinals during the past two seasons. Columbus currently sits in second place of the Eastern Conference with four wins, one draw and two losses.
The Crew’s next match will be at home versus Portland Timbers on Saturday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
