One of Ireland’s most decorated footballers passed away yesterday in Rome, aged 60, after a short illness.

That Celtic would welcome the appointment of a former scout for the club to a managerial position in the second tier of French football would normally not merit much in the way of headlines except that, in this instance, the former scout is Helena Costa who, at 39, will become the first woman to manage at a senior level in the men’s European game when she takes over Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot at the end of this season.

PERUGIA could be within a week of becoming the first leading men's football club to sign a female player.