Catholic United FC have announced a landmark shirt sponsor partnership with the Southend Centre of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), aligning the club’s future with a powerful mission rooted in faith, community, charity and compassion.

Catholic United will wear the SVP logo across their shirts for the upcoming season, symbolising a shared commitment to supporting vulnerable families, tackling poverty, homelessness and championing Catholic social values.

But this is more than just a sponsorship deal—it is a spiritual rekindling of a flame lit nearly 140 years ago. Not just putting a logo on the front of a shirt for financial gain, but a sign of respect for our local community, the history our football club is founded upon, along with a signal of continued ties with the Celtic FC faithful and the foundations upon which our two clubs were formed many years ago.

A Nod to Brother Walfrid and Celtic’s Charitable Roots

The announcement will draw inevitable comparisons to the founding of Celtic Football Club in 1887. Born from Glasgow’s impoverished East End, Celtic FC was created by Brother Walfrid, a Marist Brother and member of the St Vincent de Paul Society, as a means to raise funds for local children suffering from hunger and hardship.

That club, Celtic FC, now a global sporting institution, began by feeding the poor through local charity Poor Children’s Dinner Table, using proceeds from home matches. Funds raised from Celtic’s early games went directly to SVP-run missions across Glasgow parishes such as St Mary’s and Sacred Heart.

Catholic United’s initiative is a conscious reflection of that same charitable impulse. While separated by geography and league status, the spiritual lineage is unmistakable.

Bringing Faith, Football & Action Together

The SVP, founded in Paris in 1833, has long worked within Catholic parishes to live out the Gospel through acts of personal charity. The Southend SVP Centre has been thriving in the local community in recent years, with a growing team working tirelessly to solve the ever more desperate social issues around food, finances and homelessness. That mission now finds fresh footing and further support on the football pitch.

‘More Than a Club’ – The Catholic Football Identity

While Celtic’s motto of “faith, hope and charity” still echoes through the stands of Parkhead, Catholic United FC’s gesture brings that vision to grassroots football, in a little corner of South East Essex.

In an era of bloated sponsorships and commercial excess, Catholic United’s new kit stands apart—not as a billboard for profit, but as a banner for purpose. This is a reminder that football began not just as a game, but as a gift to the poor. Our club was built on the values of the Gospel. Now, our shirts will show that too.

As players take to the field wearing the name of one of the Church’s most enduring charitable organisations, they will not only chase victories and trophies—but embody a tradition that began in the backstreets of Glasgow and now marches proudly into our new season.