COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today announced that it has named Neil McGuinness as its Director of Scouting. McGuinness most recently worked for the Qatar Football Association as a Senior Player Recruiter and previously served as the First Team Senior Scout for Celtic Football Club of the Scottish Premiership, Scotland’s topflight.

“Neil brings a vast array of experience at the highest level of world soccer and I believe he will be a great addition to our Technical Staff,” said President Tim Bezbatchenko. “The wide contact network that Neil established during his time in Europe will be a great asset to the Club and will help us in our quest to continue to challenge for titles.”

McGuinness joins Crew SC after working in the Qatar Football Association from 2015-2018. During his time there, McGuiness worked as a Senior Player Recruiter and was responsible for the identification and recruitment of players to represent the Qatar National Team. While working for the Qatar Football Association, McGuinness also worked as a scout for Qatar’s Aspire Academy and served as a consultant to teams in the English, French, German, Mexican, Saudi and Spanish topflights.

Prior to his time with the Qatar Association, McGuinness worked as the First Team Senior Scout for Celtic Football Club of Scotland’s First Division. During his time with Celtic, McGuiness’ duties included being responsible for first team player scouting and recruitment internationally, while also covering all opposition analysis during European competition, including the UEFA Champions League.

Up next for the Crew is a home match against the Portland Timbers at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday, April 20 [7:30 p.m. ET / FOX Sports Ohio, FOX Sports GO (Stream) / 97.1 The Fan & 971TheFan.com (English); ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)].