Celtic Park won’t be able to host capacity crowds for some time, yet.
With the pandemic still raging on, there are some slight signs of encouragement. For one thing, the club are gauging interest for restricted access. ‘My Celtic Matchday’ [Celtic FC] allows supporters with season tickets to register for limited capacity games, although surely buying a season ticket is a statement of intent in and of itself.
Regardless of how you feel about that, there might be another option. During Euro 2020, ‘Fan Zones’ [UEFA] have emerged, with social distancing, refreshment service and a good atmosphere to take in European Championship matches.
For Scotland’s meeting with the Czech Republic, for example, the Tartan Army flooded into the Fan Zones to support Steve Clarke’s men. So far, they seem to have gone without incident, and here’s hoping that remains the case for the rest of the tournament.
Could something similar work, at least for Celtic’s Champions League qualifiers? It’s possible. While the partisanship of club support raises its own, very individual problems, it’s surely worth looking at. With vaccine uptake limiting the impact of Covid-19 – to a point [BBC] – a socially distanced zone for Celtic supporters to follow the Bhoys would be a reasonable suggestion to make.
Yes, Celtic fans could just watch at home, but Euro 2020 has proven there’s a third way
Of course, Fan Zones are nothing like actually being at a match. There’s no getting around that. Neither is sitting at home, of course.
As a “third way”, though, at least until Celtic Park is open to all once again, this surely makes reasonable sense. There are complications, obviously; geography and policing will need to be considered. Infrastructure would surely come at a cost to the club, but they could recoup some of that with refreshments and ticketing.
Given the scenes in Glasgow regarding club football over the last 6-7 months, it’s entirely possible that the Government wouldn’t be keen. For international matches, the atmosphere is completely different, that’s a given. From their view, they might not see the value of dedicating policing resources to this venture.
However, it’s a way for Celtic to earn some match-day revenue while Paradise’s capacity is limited. If it’s Covid-safe, with strict enforcement of social distancing, then it wouldn’t necessarily be a health risk. You’d have thought the club would be looking at this with some degree of interest.
We know how much Celtic have missed out on financially over the last year or two. This won’t solve everything or even close. But for fans, it’s a chance to be part of a Celtic atmosphere, and for the club, all transactions count.
READ MORE: Why this is worrying for Celtic
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