CELTIC Football Club and its official charity will launch a series of projects to honour the legacy of the Lisbon Lions who won the 1967 European Cup - and one will be focused on dementia.

The club’s charitable arm, the Celtic FC Foundation raised an incredible £2million this year and now the money will be poured into the Lions Legacy projects.

One of the projects will be for dementia care, which is an illness suffered by Lisbon Lion captain Billy McNeill. The Evening Times also previously reported on Hoops hero Jim Brogan who is suffering from the illness. His family previously told us that they were convinced the condition was linked to playing football.

Celtic’s dementia care project will focus primarily on providing therapeutic relief for patients as well as offering respite for carers.

The club will partner with Alzheimer Scotland for two major initiatives. This will include a reminiscence project as well as a two-year initiative providing regular contact for those living with dementia, entitled Lions Lunch Breaks and Dementia Befrienders respectively.

In Glasgow, the project are also teaming up with the new Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice to improve facilities and allow families to enjoy a peaceful, comfortable space.

Another project is 67 kitchens which will be delivered in partnership with Mary’s Meals. It will see the charity build 67 sustainable school feeding areas in parts of the developing world, with an emphasis on Malawi and it is hoped up to 80,000 children will be fed every day.

The club will also expand on its Ability Counts project and they will build a sensory room in the stadium. Significant improvements to the Foundation’s Learning Centre at Celtic Park will also be made.

Peter Lawwell, Celtic FC Chief Executive, said: “We wanted to do something special to mark this very special year and we think what we have done is a fitting legacy to the Lions and all their achievements. It also shows the importance of Celtic’s social dimension, something which will always be fundamental to everything we do.

“I would like to thank our supporters and all others who assisted and worked with the club on this campaign - now the work begins on making a positive difference to the lives of so many people in need, through the delivery of these excellent projects.

“Once again, I would also like to offer a heartfelt thank you and congratulations to the Lisbon Lions who have worked tirelessly and have been magnificent ambassadors for our great club for more than 50 years.”