The Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters Clubs over the past few days met with senior management and board members from Celtic with some of the details beginning to appear on social media and details notes being sent to Celtic Shorts…

The Affiliation initially joined the Celtic Fans Collective last September but subsequently withdrew after taking a vote of their members. They are accordingly going their own way dealing with the club who appear to be open to these kind of meetings with major supporters group after a short Q&A season at the AICSC AGM in Cork at the start of last month.

There has been no news of the club meeting with either the Celtic Supporters Association or indeed the wider representative body for the Celtic support, the Celtic Fans Collective, but perhaps these are on the list? Many however would doubt that is the case.

We have a summary of the Celtic’s meeting with the Affiliation with the occasion being described as a ‘Supporter Engagement Meeting’. These are the ‘notes’and ‘summary’ produced by the Affiliation and sent out to members.

Attendees and Introductions

Brian Wilson, Chairman – committed to regular meetings, open to attending fan forums hosted by supporter clubs

Mark Hargreaves, Head of Safety and Security (1 year in post) – stewarding, police liaison, away fixtures, travel stewards, physical security across Celtic Park, Lennoxtown, Barrowfield, and club shops

George Campbell, Head of Legal and Governance – legal/regulatory, HR, safeguarding.

Chris McKay, CFO and Executive Director

Michael Nicolson, CEO and Executive Director

John Paul Taylor, Head of Supporter Engagement – new in role, aims to revive fan forums and improve club-supporter communication

Paul Mazoyer, Head of Business Operations – ticketing, hospitality, catering, stadium services

Gerry McCulloch, Head of Commercial Operations – marketing, digital channels, streaming platform, sponsors, matchday events

Selected delegates from Affiliation member clubs

Transfer Strategy and Execution

Recruitment led by the manager; board appoints with football identity in mind.

Data-led process: scouts and data analysts filter thousands of players to a shortlist, briefed 6–12 months ahead of each window.

Two-track strategy over 24–36 months: compete in the Champions League, and create CL-quality players via the academy and development pathway.

Exit clauses speed deals; without them, selling clubs, agents, and player preferences all add friction – the club does not give players exit clauses.

Club acknowledged the last few windows have not executed well enough.

Camilo Duran cited as an early positive from the new data-led approach.

Supporters pushed back hard: team on paper is worse than last summer, same mistakes repeated, signings feel reactive not proactive.

Club response: targeting higher-quality players who have more options, unlike the easier free transfers other clubs pursue.

Current window: looking to augment the front line, centre midfield, and left back; “live situations” ongoing.

Delegated authority in place: above a certain contract/fee threshold, the CEO needs board sign-off.

Manager Succession and Brendan Rodgers Departure

Rodgers’ departure was unplanned; succession planning exists but couldn’t anticipate a resignation.

Martin O’Neill (referenced as current manager) confirmed well; was unwell earlier in the week but recovering.

Supporters questioned whether a clear succession plan exists if the current manager left. Club response: a list of candidates is always maintained; Martin was the number one target, and that was not a last-minute decision.

Public statement on Rodgers’ departure was initiated by Dermot Desmond; the board was made aware but did not collectively agree it.

Safety, Security, and Fan Incidents

Club formally objected at the pre-ops meeting and again 24 hours prior (re Scottish Cup quarter final at Ibrox on 8th March). Previous plan (Helen Street split approach) was requested; Rangers and police declined to change.

Ticket allocation cut to 700 due to safety concerns; dispute procedures initiated. (Celtic v Rangers in May) Club authorised Rangers fans to leave to avoid a crush, but communication around the holdback was poor; it took too long to remove speed bumps.

Fairhurst Report published; club contributed and its concerns are documented (available on SAP and Celtic websites). Green Brigade kettling incident: covered by the Fairhurst Report; helicopter footage showed suspected knives as the rationale for containment.

Motherwell incident: Mark (Hargreaves) spoke to Police Scotland and the Motherwell counterpart; pre-visit meetings and stadium walk-throughs planned before the next Celtic trip.

If Rangers propose the same Ibrox ingress plan again, Mark (Hargreaves) described it as “real alarm bells”.

Media, Anti-Celtic Agenda, and Communications

Supporters frustrated at the lack of public pushback against hostile media coverage (Talk Sport, Alan McCoist, Daily Record, etc.) Staff attacked online with minimal club response; club responds but tries to do so in a measured, effective way rather than reactively.

Club view: a deliberate anti-Celtic agenda exists in Scottish media, particularly post-10-in-a-row.

Transfer rumour noise is largely driven by media outlets with no inside knowledge filling content gaps.

Club cannot confirm or deny targets without risking deals, stock market obligations, and agent relationships.

Supporters’ counter: if the club executes, the media narrative loses power; trust has eroded because of delivery failures.

Club acknowledged communication has not been good enough; these forums are part of the fix.

Matchday Experience and Ticketing

Toilet facilities: limited access near buses pre-match; disabled and mobility-impaired fans struggling in the bus park area (health and safety concern flagged).

Catering: lack of food variety and allergy-friendly options, particularly in certain stands; Sodexo is the concourse supplier; kitchen fit-out limits options but improvements being explored.

Price increases at preseason games caught fans off guard; club acknowledged the optics are poor.

Short trading window (one hour across ~30 games) limits economies of scale versus the high street.

Ticket office hours: currently closes at 2pm; club to review if demand warrants longer hours.

Digital ticketing: trial with staff planned; hybrid physical/digital option intended; season tickets are the next phase but not being mandated overnight. CSCS group allocations add complexity to the digital transition; a data cleanse of season ticket holders is needed first (secondary market and informal transfers acknowledged).

Season ticket waiting list: many thousands on it, but the list is not actively maintained; some holders have moved away or no longer want tickets. Waiting list closed for new entrants; younger fans and family members locked out

Membership model under active internal review; fan groups to be consulted before launch

Family season ticket concept raised; club open-minded.

Academy, B Team, and Long-Term Football Development

Lowland League acknowledged as suboptimal for B team development but currently the only available pathway for men’s football.

Club has been pushing since 2013 for B teams to progress further within the football pyramid, including discussion of a competition between League 2 and the Lowland League.

Cooperation agreements with Championship, League 1, and League 2 clubs now in place: young players can train at Celtic and play for partner clubs at weekends.

B team also eligible for the SPFL Challenge Cup.

Development pathway restructured internally: rather than a separate 19s layer, development players are now based closer to the first team at Lennoxtown.

First meeting with the new SFA chief executive expected to include the B-team progression issue.

Barrowfield and Lennoxtown: over £25m invested across the estate in recent years; Lennoxtown described as ‘the best development facility in Scotland”.

Barrowfield not being seated: Adding seating would trigger stadium regulation, access road requirements, and planning complexity.

Stadium, Infrastructure, and Board

Stadium is 30 years old; supporter experience improvement is a short-to-medium-term priority.

New No. 7 restaurant opened last week; approximately 22,000 covers per year, predominantly supporters.

Concourse improvements and additional kiosks under consideration.

Glasgow City Council redevelopment consultation begins on the 21st of this month; the area around Parkhead identified as locally/nationally important.

Gateway organisation (10-year remit being extended another 10 years) driving residential and commercial development nearby.

Club and council have not been well aligned historically; club working to improve that relationship.

Hotel and south stand redevelopment plans referenced but no confirmed timeline.

Two board vacancies to be filled; process ongoing, announcements expected.

Next Steps 

Action – Engage with Glasgow City Council’s Parkhead redevelopment consultation. Consultation opens 21st of this month; opportunity to align club and council plans..

Action – Follow up on bus park safety and toilet access issues. Paul Mazoyer to pick up separately; mobility-impaired fans at risk between buses pre-match.

Action – Circulate a joint note of the meeting to supporter clubs. Brian Wilson committed to running a summary past the committee and publishing key points covered.

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