Tributes have been paid to East Kilbride Sports Council legend Angus McConnell, who passed away today, aged 90.
Angus has had a lengthy association with sport in the town as a founder member of both East Kilbride Sports Council and East Kilbride YM FC.
The Kirktonholme club were in the process of naming their pitch after Angus, as a surprise for his 90th birthday last Saturday.
Sadly, Angus passed before the signage at the ground was unveiled.
As well as those two organisations, Angus was also heavily involved in the formation of the Scottish Association of Local Sports Council (SALSC) which has since become sportscotland.
A Queen’s Baton relay-runner for the 2016 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Angus received the British Empire Medal in that same year.
East Kilbride Sports Council treasurer Bob Anderson said Angus was a great ambassador for sport before his passing.
He said: “He was a legend in the town and a legend in sports circles.
“He wouldn’t do anyone any harm whatsoever, he was always there to help and support you, with all his experience.
“He was a smashing chap, and he will be sadly missed.
“Angus was very much a stalwart, he had been around East Kilbride all his days and he was heavily involved in East Kilbride YM as one of their main supporters.
“He was the sports council’s founder member in 1967, he was one of the instigators of sport in the town.
“The very fact that East Kilbride were the first sports council in Scotland meant that Angus was called upon by other areas to talk about his expertise and give advice on how he and East Kilbride went about creating a sports council.
“We were very fortunate in the early days of having the benefit of that, and the wee man was always the man behind it all, he was the instigator of these things.”
Bob added: “Angus was very well known around the town and he was a great ambassador for sport.
“He was very active; although he was 90 years of age, he still attended sports council meetings every month.
“He was a good lad to have around you. Angus didn’t like to interfere too much, but he was there to guide you and keep you in the right lines.
“He’s was a good lad for sport in the town, and all the clubs knew him well.”
East Kilbride YM manager Graeme Robertson said: "He was a really nice guy. He had been at the YM since he was 14 or 15 and had taken part in the football since he was 16, so that was 74 years on committees, and he was life member of the Scottish Amateur Football Association, a life member of the Scottish Amateur Football League.
"He was still going to games on a Saturday right up until Covid.
"It''s terrible to hear the news."
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