Football is becoming increasingly globalised, and Celtic are part of that process due to their standing as one of the most reputable clubs in the world.
The Bhoys command an enormous support across Scotland and Ireland, while they also have a large following across the United States, Australia, Canada and beyond.
Evidence of this was plain to see during the summer when Celtic drew sizeable crowds during their stateside pre-season tour in a three-game series against DC United, Manchester City and Chelsea across various locations.
Brendan Rodgers also took the Bhoys to face Sligo Rovers in October, offering loyal supporters across the Irish Sea a chance to see their heroes in the flesh. Of course, many also make the pilgrimage to Parkhead every week on buses, boats, trains and planes, showing incredible dedication to the cause.
With football accessibility evolving all the time, the suggestion of Celtic one day playing a Scottish Premiership match abroad has been floated on several occasions.
Now, Dundee managing director John Nelms has put forward an intriguing scenario bound to pique the interest of fans across the world.
John Nelms makes intriguing Scottish Premiership pitch
Speaking to The Daily Record, Nelms has floated the possibility of a Scottish Premiership match in the United States, which would be bound to generate widespread debate among football circles north of the border.
Why is this relative to Celtic? Well, the Bhoys explored the idea of an abroad fixture in 2015 with Dundee before plans were shelved two years later. However, the Dark Blues chief has refused to cast the idea aside completely and also claimed the proposal was close to happening at the time.
He explained: “Is it something we’d look at again? Yes, we’re open to all of these things. We’re in the entertainment business so anything we can do to entertain, we’d certainly do that.
“That project nearly happened, it was very, very close. It would have been fantastic for everybody, financially for the football club, for the eyes that you’d get on the game, everything we thought that that would be fantastic for.
“The NFL are doing it just now, they were in Germany last weekend. They see the benefits in doing that. Now, with benefits also comes the negative side of it which is making sure that your national identity and the league’s identity is there.”
Later, he added: “There are an enormous amount of hoops to jump through. It’s FIFA, it’s UEFA and the local leagues. But if it ever arose again that we’re able to do that, we have a little bit more of an understanding of how it works now and we’d certainly be up for something like that.
“The question is how it would affect the MLS and I understand that. If we had English Premier League games being played up here, I think we’d be a bit concerned that our stadiums might be empty that week because Man Utd are playing Man City at Hampden. We’d all have a little bit of a fear of that so I understand it.”
Stateside Scottish Premiership matches would be divisive
While the opportunity could see Celtic supporters across the Atlantic gain a chance to witness their side live in the flesh, there would be significant opposition to any proposal from a large portion of the fanbase.
Football is already becoming a minefield. The growing influence of broadcasters regularly inconveniences match-going fans, who are routinely put on the back foot with erratic kick-off times to cater for television coverage.
Scottish football may not be the pinnacle of the worldwide game, but its authenticity is a unique selling point that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Moving a match to an entirely different country wouldn’t strike the right chord, even as a one-off showpiece. What else could be in the works later down the line if it were permitted? Purely from personal opinion, it carries far too many cons to warrant consideration.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
