THERE are very few topics that divide Glasgow along enemy lines quite like football. 

Sure, politics and religion have their moments, but no-one has ever met someone from the city abroad – if you can remember those days – and asked which party they vote for or god they pray to. 

Whether you are Rangers, Celtic, or even Partick Thistle, it’s the simple, frustrating, thrilling game which has always meant so much to so many. 

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You can imagine, then, just how much of a blow it was to lose it for five long months during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic where the last thing on anyone’s mind was who Queen’s Park were going to sign. 

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Thankfully, we’ve slowly begun to creep back to some sort of normality with games on the telly and complaints on social media about line-ups, referees, and the SPFL. 

It’s not just the professionals who have been given the go-ahead with thousands of young grassroots footballers back on the pitch and this is where I come in. 

Having given up the dream of pulling on the gloves for Scotland, I’ve been volunteering with Clarkston Colts Community Club, in Airdrie, for the last three years. 

That’s meant two nights a week of training in Scotland’s typically unpredictable weather and games against teams in deepest, darkest Lanarkshire and Glasgow.

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It also means I was just as excited as the players and the other Colts coaches when we were given the greenlight to return to training last month. 

For the club, it has not been without its challenges and youth football is no different from any ‘industry’ in having to adapt to life with the virus. Following guidance from the Scottish FA, we had to appoint a Covid-19 co-ordinator – me – who would be responsible for ensuring we took the necessary safety measures. 

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This included asking all youngsters bring hand sanitiser with them to all training sessions, taking a register to comply with Test and Protect, and asking parents to not stand on the sidelines and watch to ensure social distancing for adults is in place.

Like the pros, we’ve also had to wash all of our equipment before and after training to do our best to ensure it’s virus free and safe for the kids to use.

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There’s been blood, sweat, and tears to get the club ready, but not a single one of us would say it hasn’t been worth it. 

Ask any coach worth their salt and they’ll tell you it’s never about the winning, the trophies, or the competition, the reward of working with young people is seeing the smiles on their faces when they do the things they love. 

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The last few weeks has been all about giving the kids a chance to meet up with friends they haven’t seen for nearly half a year and to simply enjoy the chance to play the game again. 

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Problems lie ahead as we head for the autumn months and those without a pitch of their own can still only fight over Scotland’s limited grass pitches. 

The lingering worry, as Chris Sutton so bluntly touched upon the other day, is what will happen to all of these clubs when it starts to get dark by 6pm? 

In any case, while it might have the power to divide us, when you see how happy young people are to be back, you’ll know football does more to unite us.