Christopher Atherton became the youngest ever senior footballer in the United Kingdom when he made his first appearance for Glenavon aged just 13 years and 329 days on Tuesday.
The teenager came on as a substitute with 15 minutes to play in the 6-0 League Cup victory over Dollingstown. With his first touch, Atherton set up Matthew Snoddy for Glenavon's sixth goal of the game.
"He didn't give the ball away once in the whole time he was on, for 15 minutes as a 13-year-old kid," Glenavon manager Gary Hamilton told the club's YouTube channel.
"A lot of us at that at age would have been dreaming of becoming a footballer playing for the first team. You would have been thinking it's a million miles away but with him I had no doubt that in a game like tonight, if we had got ahead of it then I could bring them on because I know what he's comfortable enough.
"He caught his chance well to be fair and to be fair to the goalkeeper he made a great double save. That would have been the icing on the cake because with his first touch of the ball, he gets an assist.
"He's just a special talent and there's a lot of interest for him from cross channel clubs. I'm not surprised one bit.
"You go away there tonight, and it fills you with pride and joy because we started this academy, and he's been there from the start, from he was four or five years of age.
"He's progressed right through and he just gets on about it. He's a quiet kid but he's confident in his ability and he's on that football pitch in the hunt phases and he is afraid of nothing.
"It’s great to see a player from that age group of the academy come right through and play for the first team.
"He came into training with the first team before the last match of last season. Only he had to go watch Celtic with his daddy, he would have played in that match as well because it was the last match of the season, we were already guaranteed seventh place. We were planning on giving him his debut then, which would have made him the youngest ever player in the world. Unfortunately, he's going to have to settle with being the youngest ever in the UK."
Tonight, Glenavon Academy player Christopher Atherton made his first team debut against Dollingstown in the League Cup. At 1⃣3⃣ yrs and 3⃣2⃣9⃣ days old, he became the youngest player in the UK to play in a first-class match.
Congratulations Christo!!👏🏼💙 pic.twitter.com/hypGdC5R7p— Glenavon FC (@Glenavon_FC) September 13, 2022
Atherton breaks the record set by Eamon Collins, who played for Blackpool aged 14 years and 323 days in 1980.
"He’s a great kid," Hamilton continued.
"I’ve had the pleasure of watching him every other week for the last seven or eight years because he plays on the same team as my son, Calum.
"He’s a joy to watch but the work he does away from Glenavon, and the dedication he has to become a professional footballer, is unbelievable and that's what separates him from a lot of the kids at the Academy.
"He works night and day at his game. He eats right foods. He goes to bed at the right time. He does everything he can to become a better footballer and to try and give himself the best opportunity of becoming a professional footballer.
"I've been watching him for years and for a long time I've said he's the best player I've seen at that age.
"He's got a long way to go, but if he keeps going the way is and keeps being humble the way is, he's got great parents who keep him humble as well - they don't get too far ahead of themselves, which you tend to find some days with parents. He is a credit to them.”
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