Perth Glory Football Club is excited to announce it will play a pre-season friendly against Scottish Football League giants Celtic FC at NIB Stadium on Saturday 9 July 2011, subject to FFA sanction.

In a huge coup for both the Glory and the A-League, Celtic will boast their strongest squad including star full-back Emilio Izaguirre, recently named player of the year in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League awards.

Paul Kelly, Perth Glory CEO believes this is a significant development for the club that follows the recent marquee signing of New Zealand international striker Shane Smeltz.

"Perth Glory is delighted to play Celtic in a friendly later this year. This is a great time for the club following several key player signings headlined by Shane Smeltz. We are sure our fans share our excitement as the game will showcase some of the best footballers in the world," said Kelly.

Celtic has won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions.

The match offers great intrigue for Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson, who will renew his rivalry against Celtic having made 336 appearances and scoring 46 goals for their arch rivals Glasgow Rangers FC.

"Celtic is a European powerhouse, regularly playing the best footballing teams in the world through the UEFA Champions League competition. They have massive international support and play a very attractive brand of football that I'm sure will excite the people of Perth," said Ferguson.

"This is an exciting opportunity for Perth Glory and although it's nice to have a little extra at stake with my Rangers heritage, the fixture is about exposing our football club against one of the best and most professionally run clubs in the world."

Perth Glory will soon release further information regarding ticketing and pricing.