Celtic Shared: Fan ownership the goal for new Celtic supporters' campaign

By Euan Davidson

February 16, 2021

Celtic Shared has emerged as a new campaign for supporters to take over the club.

The group, supported by various CSCs, fan media and fan organisations, announced their intentions with a pair of tweets this evening. The Green Brigade-backed coalition is aiming to “agitate for change in how our club is run”, with fan ownership the end goal.

Linked to the Celtic Trust, Celtic Shared shows the momentum in the support to topple the current regime.

Under Desmond, Lawwell and Bankier, trophies have come in bucketloads.

However, the running of the club, the lack of communication with fans and the downturn of results have seen a series of protests. Equally, there is a political element, with many supporters feeling alienated by the political affiliations at boardroom level. In the past, the likes of Bankier [BBC] and Lord Livingstone have upset supporters.

Furthermore, not two years after Bankier name-calling the fans, the same board were willing to accept prestigious awards on the behalf of supporters [FIFA/YouTube]. These are the kind of divisive gestures that have alienated fans, along with putting the academy players on furlough and – of course – Dubai.

Celtic fans protest / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

What does Celtic Shared hope to achieve?

The aims of Celtic Shared seem simple enough. In the short-term, improve communication. In the long-term, introduce fan ownership to a club whose supporters are its lifeblood.

Celtic Shared’s interest in fan ownership aligns the organisation with the Celtic Trust. Together, and with other CSCs and organisations, there’s a sweeping movement to wrestle control of the club.

That’ll be welcome news to some, but more moderate Bhoys supporters may object to any increase of influence from the Green Brigade. A not insignificant portion of the support are happy with the status quo, and there’s every chance that the fanbase may find itself more divided in years to come.

For the time being, it’s an interesting approach. It harkens back to the latter days of pre-Fergus McCann era. So many of those fans who bought shares in 1994 must still be in the support. A penny for their thoughts, as the sound of rebellion rings around Paradise once more.

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