Glasgow Warriors Clans | The driving force behind club’s cultural ethos  

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 23: Glasgow Warriors flags during a BKT United Rugby Championship match between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh at Scotstoun Stadium, on December 23, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Each Clan covers a different area of the club’s wider community – north, south, east, and west – and has its own leader, charity and community leader, and social convenor.  

The Clans are the driving force of the club’s community engagement. Each Clan is encouraged to get involved in different charities, rugby clubs and external events. A structure that allows for players and staff to be involved with clubs in their local areas and partner with charities that they have personal connections too.  

With both players and staff in the Clans, the collaboration between departments is higher and there is a greater opportunity to meet and engage with others within the wider Warriors team.   

Matt Fagerson is part of the West Clan. When asked about what the Clans bring to the club he said: “The Clans let us dive into our history and the city’s history, getting to know the four regions around Glasgow in more depth. We really get to dive into our roots in Glasgow.  

“The official fan hub is The Old Schoolhouse, and that is in our west region. Last season when there were some injuries, we would venture down there on game day and have some drinks with our supporters.  

“Also, when we are walking around on our days off, we catch someone with a Warriors top and get a cheeky smile, or when you go for a haircut, you get to chat about what it is like in the Warriors.”  

Ross Thompson is part of Clan South and enjoys the community engagement aspect of the Clans. He also appreciates making relationships with others within the squad.  He said: “It is a good way to integrate the young boys and old boys together.  

“When we do things together you naturally end up in smaller groups, whereas this way you are more likely to be pushed together with people of varying ages and varying experience in the squad.  

“For people in the community, I think it is good for them, given that so many of the boys have come through that system. The Clans encourage us to give back to them and give back to those that have helped us progress through to professional rugby.  

“We enjoy going down and seeing what local rugby clubs are doing because grassroots are the heartbeat of rugby.”  

Martin Malone, the club’s Stadium Operations Manager, is part of Clan North. Martin enjoys the integration of staff and players.  He said: “With each clan having a mix of staff and players together it’s a great opportunity to get to know everyone in more social and community engagement environments.  

 “Integrating staff into the players Clans system is a relatively new concept and the hope is to grow contributions from both staff and players within the group, and work together as one club.  

“The aim for the Clans is to create strong connections to our local community and local clubs and to support important local causes within each of our assigned areas.”  

From Clan East, Glasgow Warriors Communications Assistant, Molly Mitchell said: “I enjoy being part of the Clans because it gives me a chance to build relationships with everyone across the club.  

“Working in communications it’s important to form those relationships, and the Clans allow that to happen naturally.  

“We were involved with Social Bite’s Christmas present project just after I started working for Glasgow Warriors. It was great to help the community while also getting to know different members of staff and players away from Scotstoun.”  

The Clans also give opportunities to our commercial partners to become more involved in our community. Several partners came on board this year to help with various Clan events including, Victoria Park Litter Pick and Social Bite’s Christmas Present Project. Commercial partners have also shared best practice with colleagues across the club for developing social engagement. 

In the coming season there will be dedicated Clan activities each month as well as Clan challenges and activities during pre-season.  

If you are interested in having a Clan visit your club, please email Stuart Lewis, [email protected] on your email, please stipulate your preference which Clan you’d like to visit: north, south, east, or west.  

To view the Glasgow Warriors Cultural Blueprint click here.