Another intriguing development within Celtic fan landscape

Announced with a clear mission to represent small shareholders, season ticket holders and ordinary supporters, CSL describes itself as “a vehicle for shareholders, season ticket holders and supporters of Celtic Football Club to unite around and to articulate a collective view to the Board of directors of Celtic plc.”

CSL is headed by a trio of well-known figures. Duncan Smillie, who serves as chairman, alongside
David Low and Peter McGowan. Each brings a wealth of experience, influence, and credibility to the project. David Low is a particularly notable name among Celtic supporters, having played a key role in the club’s historic takeover by Fergus McCann in the 1990s, while Peter McGowan has long been active in shareholder and fan engagement circles. Duncan Smillie adds significant business acumen and a strong public profile as CSL’s lead.

Together, this leadership team arguably provides a level of gravitas and professionalism that perhaps sets the organisation apart from some previous fan initiatives.

Here’s what they have to say on their website –

What Are We?

CSL is a vehicle for shareholders, season ticket holders and supporters of Celtic Football Club to unite around and to articulate a collective view to the Board of directors of Celtic plc on matters of importance concerning our football club. We are a professional organisation with high standards of governance. We seek to influence the future direction of our club and to protect the interests of all stakeholders. We aim to ensure our collective voice is heard. We are not a protest movement.

CSL is a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland. It does not have shareholders. It’s directors will be elected by its members in general meeting. All members have one vote each. All members are equal.

Our Goal?

We believe the interests of small shareholders, season ticket holders and supporters in general are not adequately represented by the directors of Celtic plc. We intend to hold those directors to account for their actions. We believe that since Fergus McCann’s departure from the club in 1999 the balance between the corporate interests and smaller shareholders and season ticket holders has been lost. Our objective is to see that balance restored and for supporters and stakeholders to be respected and united.

How?

We intend to progress our objectives through a high profile marketing campaign which will seek to develop a significant membership base. There will be three principal strands to our endeavours:

‘Untraced’ shares. All football clubs have a significant problem with ‘untraced’ shares and none more so than Celtic plc. Celtic plc has approximately 28,000 shareholders of which up to 20% is characterised as ‘untraced’. We intend to offer shareholders
a service which will help locate these shares and re-unite supporters with their shareholdings and unclaimed dividends.

Membership fees will principally be applied to costs associated with re-activating ‘untraced’ shares and acquiring Celtic plc shares off-market and via the

AIM market operated by the London Stock Exchange. No fees or salaries will be paid to directors or officials of CSL.

Shareholders will be asked to grant their proxy vote to the CSL instead of the chairman of Celtic plc to vote at general meetings of shareholders of Celtic plc.

We shall make a proxy form available to all shareholders on our website.

In conclusion, our mission is to give ordinary shareholders and supporters a voice that they currently don’t enjoy with the regime managing our club.

Duncan Smillie, Chairman
Celtic Supporters Limited

Duncan Smillie, a former board member then chairman at Partick Thistle, was interviewed recently by Stephen McGowan in The Herald and talked about Celtic being the one constant in his life.  “I’ve had people come and go, jobs come and go, friends come and go, and I’ve had a wife come and go. The only constant is Celtic.

“We are not trying to make trouble for the club; it’s not about that. We just want to get to a position where people stand behind us and help us to become an influential player.

“In the 1990s, with Save Our Celts or Celts For Change, it was quite hard to mobilise people. I think it’s a lot easier now with the way people communicate. I think it’s important for disaffected fans to get under one banner.

“It is a broken relationship yet, ironically, all sides want the same thing. The board, the fans, and shareholders all want the best for the club. How to get there is the issue.”

There’s also a recent interview with Phil Mac Giolla Bháin that is well worth a read. It outlined the initial plan to work with the Celtic Trust and subsequent to that not happening the new route is clearly going to be through Celtic Supporters Limited (CSL).

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