THE Rangers Youth Development Company have broken the £10million fundraising barrier after another six-figure cheque presentation to the Auchenhowie academy.
Profits from a range of RYDC products - including Rangers Lotto, The Union Jackpot half-time draw, Stadium Bricks and Scratchcards - have been put towards the next generation of Ibrox stars since 2002.
The cash has helped the likes of Nathan Patterson, Leon King, Robby McCrorie and Alex Lowry make the step up from the youth ranks to the first team in recent seasons as supporters invest in the future of the club on and off the park.
And Head of Academy Craig is grateful for the incredible efforts of Colin Stewart and his staff as Rangers continue to reap the rewards of the RYDC funding.
Mulholland said: “As always, I would like to offer a massive thank you to Colin, his team at RYDC and of course the Rangers fans who continue to support the development of our young talent.
“Since the Academy was remodelled in 2015, we have been asking the fans to buy into a vision which would see Rangers begin to develop exciting talent to play in a winning and successful Rangers team, also allowing us to commence a player trading model, to augment our income and keep Rangers winning. We are now able to demonstrate some exciting outcomes from that vision.
“In the last 5 years we have brought in more than £15m in transfer fees for Academy players, with many additions, perhaps in excess of £7m, still to come on those deals.
“Then there is the combined value of Adam Devine, Leon King, Alex Lowry and Robby McCrorie, all members of the current first-team squad, taking the total value generated from the Academy well beyond £20m.
“With 10 graduates playing in the first-team last season, 8 playing already this season, Leon King achieving 19 appearances so far this season and becoming the U19 player with the most minutes in the Champions League, Adam’s important contribution while Borna was at the World Cup, and Alex’s recent start against Motherwell taking it to 14 games in a row where a recent Academy graduate has started – we can now be proud of the talent our club is producing.
“Given their current potential, at ‘A’ squad and U21 international level, it is likely that Robby McCrorie, Nathan Patterson, Adam Devine, Leon King, Billy Gilmour, Alex Lowry and Rory Wilson could all become key and important players for their country, generating a sporting or financial return for Rangers, and all were developed from age 8 or younger in our Academy here at Rangers.
“None of this is possible without the support of Colin, the RYDC team and our fantastic fan base who are relentless in their support of our Academy and our great club. Everyone in the Academy would like to offer a sincere thank you to them all and we will continue to innovate and work tirelessly to add to the exciting list of players above.”
Stewart, the RYDC Director of Operations, joined defensive duo King and Devine at Auchenhowie on Monday to hand over the latest significant sum to help take the academy to the next level.
Supporters have benefitted personally from their investment in RYDC and Stewart said: “We are, once again, delighted to donate another £400,000 to The Rangers Academy.
“We have now provided more than £10 million to the Rangers youth programme since 2002 and I would like to pay tribute to our remarkable fanbase who continue to participate in our portfolio of products.
“Every penny of profit from Rangers Lotto, The Union Jackpot, Stadium Bricks and Scratchcards is given to the Academy to enhance player development and we are totally committed to supporting Craig, his staff and the youth players in any way possible.
“RYDC has also given away more than £10 million in prize money to fans since 2002 which is something we are also delighted about. We gave away over £300,000 in prize money last year including a £25,000 prize to our Lotto Rollover winner. Seeing the joy on Rangers fans’ faces when they win cash with us will always be a major bonus to RYDC staff.
“As always, I’m looking forward to working with Craig and his Academy staff throughout 2023 to help increase awareness of RYDC products.”
