Caledonia Gladiators appoint football agent Raymond Sparkes as advisor to help grow basketball franchise

Basketball franchise Caledonia Gladiators has appointed one of the country’s most experienced sports agents Raymond Sparkes as an advisor to help boost player recruitment and the growth of the club commercially.

East Kilbride-based Sparkes, who has over four decades of experience working with some of Europe’s leading sports teams and organisations, will support the club in a number of key areas, including commercial growth, player recruitment and contractual matters.

Sparkes has worked as a football agent since 1991 after spending nine years leading the commercial department at Hibernian FC.

In his role as an agent, he brokered the first two ‘Bosman’ deals in the UK, including the free transfer of ex-Scotland hero John Collins from Celtic to Monaco.

The ex-Hibernian FC commercial director, who runs ProStar Management agency in Glasgow, is a lifelong basketball fan and was previously commercial manager of the successful Falkirk-based basketball team Team Solripe from the 1980s.

And now Sparkes has his sights on taking the Gladiators to new heights.

The 64-year-old, who played basketball at schoolboy level for Scotland and Great Britain, said: “I’ve loved basketball my entire life, so it’s a real honour to get the chance to support the Caledonia Gladiators as it continues to grow the sport here in Scotland.

“It’s a hugely exciting time to be joining, with both the club’s men’s and women’s teams doing well, and the club recently moving to its incredible new arena.

“I’ve got a wealth of passion and experience in professional sport, and I want to use that to help grow the club commercially and attract new revenue streams. I’ve already had very positive conversations with potential sponsors, and it’s great to see that level of