Lord Willie Haughey has stepped forward with a proposal aimed directly at Celtic’s season ticket holders. At a time when frustration around the board has been loud, he is offering a different route. Not protest. Not a takeover. A collective shareholding.
The idea is called the Season Ticket Alliance. Haughey says he is willing to commit millions of his own money to buy shares on behalf of supporters. Those shares would not sit in his name. They would be held for the alliance.
The structure is simple on the surface. For every 10,000 season ticket holders who sign up, he would invest £2 million into shares. If all season ticket holders joined, the total could rise beyond £10 million. Fans would not be asked to pay into it. They would register and become part of the group.
This comes against a backdrop of tension between parts of the support and the current hierarchy. Results, recruitment and communication have all been debated heavily. Haughey has been vocal before. This time he is putting forward something practical.
The key detail is influence. A larger, organised fan shareholding could open the door to structured dialogue with the club. It would not mean control. It would mean a seat at the table.
Haughey said: (Go Radio Football Show), “Over the last few months I’ve been looking at what’s been going on and if you’ve not got harmony in a business then you’ve got no chance.
“And I think some of the stuff has been a distraction over the past few months.
“And I’m not saying I don’t agree with a lot of the things that the fans are angry about.
“But I think that after last week and the fantastic atmosphere at the stadium and all that, it’ll be killed in two minutes.
“I just think that at the moment we need to come up with a better solution for how the fans can get a voice.
“I’m going to look at setting something up. I want to set up, I believe that the 54,000 season ticket holders are the core, they’re the heartbeat of Celtic. And I’m going to set up a thing called the Season Ticket Alliance.
“And I want 54,000 people, whether you’re in corporate or whether you’re in a director’s box or wherever you are, you’re in the seats or in the standing section, that I’m going to set up an office, a small secretariat. I will pay for it.
“I’m not looking for money off of anybody. And what I want to do is I want the 54,000 individuals.
“All we need is, there’ll be more details in the next few weeks, but all we need is either your email address or your mobile phone number.
“And then you’ll get a number, you’ll be part of that Season Ticket Alliance.
“And what we’d like to do then is if thousands and thousands of people join us, then obviously these thousands and thousands of people between them get some shares. Look at what sort of shares
“I’m trying to get a system where the people can get a voice, but where we can talk to the club sensibly, try and get things done. And what I’m offering is that this will be completely separate.
“I will have nothing to do with it, but for every 10,000 fans that join us, I will put £2 million in for them to buy shares for this trust.
“So if we take all the shares of the people who would join through the trust, and then we add that to it, if everyone joins, that’s £10million, and they will be gifted to the trust, they’ll not be owned by me.
“It’s going to be separate for the trust, but I think that we have to get something that all the fans can get behind.
“Let’s get harmony, let’s get the Green Brigade back in the stadium, let’s get everybody singing for the same hymn sheet, and then let’s try and create a vehicle.
“And I’ve got an idea, I’m going to get a Celtic legend to front it, and I’m not going to confirm at the moment, but I’ve got that done.
“And then over the next few weeks, there’ll be more and more details about how people can become part of this.
“And what we’re hoping to do as the long-term players, is to get enough people behind us here that we can go to the club and say, listen, this should be the vehicle for how the fans can get their viewpoint over to the club.
“And maybe we may end up getting enough shares where we can get, we’ve got a voice, and maybe even potentially in years to come, get someone from the fan base onto the board.”
What happens next depends on uptake. Supporters will want clarity on governance and how decisions would be made within the alliance. Structure matters if this is to gain traction.
On the pitch, Celtic still face a massive run of games. The noise around ownership and influence will not help performances unless it settles.
Haughey’s proposal will certainly get people talking. If enough fans sign up, it shifts the balance slightly.
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3 responses
I dont trust the skeekit wee soup taker, buyer beware
Interesting point, albeit slightly lacking.
JPD, you probably have more insight than I do but in my opinion, this sounds like a reverbatation of the McCann introduction many years ago where no shit shall be taken.
He is offering his money and time towards OUR cause, this is a positive in my mind.
perhaps a more concise and coralated exposure on your part might enlighten my ignorance.
Why can’t he just buy the shares? Why does he need season ticket holders to sign up? I don’t see what difference that makes, honestly. We’ve got Celtic supporters ltd asking fans for money so they can buy shares and retain control over them, now this scheme! It’s all very well saying he will buy shares but someone has to be willing to sell them to him. 10m will buy roughly 5m shares which is a little over 5% of the company, enough to call an EGM where whatever we propose will be defeated in a vote. Moonbeams stuff.