Philip Sweeney 
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sport
In 2015, to be a successful football club, you require not only a technically astute team on the pitch but also ambitions to “grow the brand” in far-flung parts of the globe. Personally, I feel uncomfortable with using Americanisms, but such are the paltry finances available to our club in Scotland, that we do genuinely have to grow the brand elsewhere.
With the USA home to a population in excess of 300 million and a significant proportion of that allying themselves to what is known as the Scots-Irish diaspora, it is a market that Celtic F.C. should (in theory), have no problem in cornering. In last year’s World Cup, the Yanks got behind their national football team (as I said above, I cringe at Americanisms such as ‘soccer’) in record numbers like never before with thousands watching their nation in fan parks in the likes of Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Indeed, such was the level of support and interest by Americans, that after the World Cup, Barack Obama phoned their goalkeeper Tim Howard, to personally congratulate him on the efforts of the team reaching the last-16.
The legacy of this has been that these American ‘football’ fans have since attached themselves to football clubs and regularly watch on Fox Sports Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona or Real Madrid. Note, not only are natives of Uncle Sam showing an interest in their own MLS clubs but are regularly showing an interest in European clubs too.
American sports fans like to demonstrate support of their respective teams by wearing replica strips (or uniforms as they call them) and of course, this brings in revenue. The success of a football club and the participation in friendlies in the United States raises the profile of a club in the U.S. and can lead to a long-term attachment developing. Yet, as per above, Celtic should not have a problem in this regard in the USA, especially in the East Coast cities of New York and Boston – both of which were largely built by the Irish in the 19th Century.
So what is Celtic’s position on this?
Several years ago, Peter Lawwell himself announced his (and Celtics ambitions) to ‘grow the brand’ by tapping into the American market; with lofty intentions of enticing sponsors and partners to get on board with our club. In theory, this sounds positive, but in practice, I have not seen concrete evidence to back it up. Admittedly, Celtic have participated in friendlies in America over the last decade but I personally don’t think they have done enough. A few years back, we played Real Madrid in a glamour friendly in Philadelphia – (the game in which Dylan McGeouch suffered a serious injury).
There was an attendance of only 34,000, granted it was a friendly. But, did Celtic leave a legacy? Real Madrid had pop-up style merchandise available inside and outside the stadium but (apart from the players and fans inside the stadium), the green and white hoops were conspicuous by their absence. Why did Celtic not use this opportunity make commercial inroads? Moreover, Real Madrid’s star-studded first team met with fans face to face in ‘downtown’ Philly but apparently, Celtic’s players did not.
From a public relations perspective, Celtic were found wanting. I understand that this friendly came after our season had started, but if we did not have the time to market ourselves properly, then it begs the question, why did we agree to the friendly in the first place? For the appearance money, it was too good an opportunity to turn down and Lawwell would inevitably retort, but he himself had publicly announced long-term plans to grow the Celtic brand.
The other avenue our club was supposedly taking stateside was to set up ‘partnership’ clubs. Yes, we did actually set up an arrangement with the Philadelphia Union I recall which is great but what has happened in the period since? The ‘Philly deal’ was set up circa 2012 and has led to coaches from either side of the Atlantic Ocean involved in learning one another’s training methods. That is commendable but what about Celtic obtaining first refusal on the next prodigious player? Someone like Freddy Adu? This name is just given as an example, but I am sure there are many more to come with the growth of ‘football’ in America.
We are hamstrung by the TV deal in Scotland and (embarrassingly) get outbid by both lower placed English Premiership and English Championship clubs whenever we show an interest in signing potential players. This is the reality and it will only get worse so all the more reason to ‘crack America’ and take advantage of the fanbase we already have over there and attract more fans. I don’t think we are doing enough to grow the brand or, if we are, I do not recall Lawwell updating us on any developments to this effect.
I remember an article written two years ago, that stated the biggest football clubs based on fan support. It’s no surprise that the club who have the third best support in the world are Celtic. Too often I feel our Board of Directors either forget or are unaware of the impact our fans have.
We are a massive club globally and I would like to see us fulfil our international potential by adopting the modern methods that the aforementioned clubs have already done.
Eric Knott 
Aodhán Ó Conchobhair 
Site Staff 
My father is from Philly; mum from east end of Glasgow. I live in the US but don’t consider myself loyal. I’m a Celt through & through, and thanks to CelticTV I watch every match.
Aside from the needless jabs and stereotypes pointed at the country you’re looking to take advantage of, the article was a decent read.
Hi Trey, thanks for your comment. Your mothers roots proves my reference to the Scots-Irish diaspora. Great to hear that you are like myself, a big fan of the club. I wish to accentuate that I am not inferring that all Americans subscribe to certain stereotypes – after all, with a population greater than 300 million, this could not possibly be the case but….. those who commentate on the games and are quite senior in the U.S. football authorities do tend to use certain phrases that make me personally cringe. It is just a personal view. I prefer football to ‘soccer’ and goal to ‘end zone’. Add me on Facebook as it would be good to keep in touch. Hail Hail!
I wrote an article on The Celtic Blog a few years back on this very subject.
At this time of the year with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching I’ve never understood Celtic not taking a short term lease in a unit in a mall in Boston, Philly, Chicago, or New York; places with huge Scots/Irish expat communities.
This isn’t rocket science.
We have an American based kit supplier and the cost of a unit for six months surely wouldn’t break the bank just to see if it would be a going concern.
I wrote to Jack McGinn over 25 years ago telling him how Celtic could become the biggest club in the world. My premise was thatCeltic crack the American market. How could they do that? Quite simple: play the Irish heritage card. At that time, 89 million Americans filled in their Census saying that they were of Irish background. Celtic have always bottled the Irish card and let Murray & Co rip them off for a number of titles and £Ms in lost revenue. That Madrid game in Philly? Celtic played a shadow team and lost. Americans don’t back losers. Finally, Celtic boards always take their support for granted. Happy to take the money with little or nothing in return. HH
I had no idea that there was a similar article a few years back but good to hear that it is not a view that is held in isolation. @ JustShattered – Thanks and yes, the gist of the article above is that I dont believe Celtic are maximising their true commercial potential stateside; nor, the opportunity to grow. @ Trey, I actually admire the commercial success of American sports teams and the emphasis on marketing.
Thanks for the comment John Collins……..Famous name but Im sure there are many JC’s.
I’m a Celtic supporter in California. I sport my Celtic gear all the time and nobody has a clue what Celtic FC is. Most people just think I’m supporting the Boston Celtics basketball team.The club should get involved in more pre season games in America like premier league and la Liga teams are. MLS teams are getting involved and we all know Celtic could kick an MLS teams ass all over the the pitch. Also making champions league group stage on the regular might help too since Americans definitely know this is the tournement where the big clubs play. A high profile American on the team wouldn’t hurt either.
As an American and Celtic fan living in Ohio I’m able to see many matches on the FOX networks. Like most I see the varying degrees in quality between Champions League, Europa League & SPFL. I truely believe the Celtic FC has the opportunity to be supported by a large segment of the fans in the US. Given the distance it is unlikely the US fan will be anywhere near as devoted as someon in Glasgow, but they will watch matches on TV, buy some gear and attend a friendly if CFC returns to these shores.
There is absolutely no doubt that the Celtic executive have no idea about the value of the overseas allegiance and that it is being eroded. Not just the USofA but Canada with its 35m people. Examples are Celtic vs Benfica in Toronto in the middle of the season during an international break and, of course, both fielding “B” teams but charging premium prices for tickets — and the deafening roar of outrage that followed. Not from us, we knew enough to stay away but many didn’t. If we want to watch “B” teams we’ll go watch TFC [that’s MLS folks]. Later Celtic send a “B” team for a friendly against Tottenham in Scandinavia, and, again, a lot of anger. There was even talk about withholding Celtic’s fee. An old saying “the only thing worse than bad publicity is no publicity’. Don’t you believe it.
Oh, and that bit about the word “soccer” making you “cringe”, how do you feel about the words ‘calcio’ or ‘fussball’ or………..It’s a big, big world out here.
Thanks for the last three comments above. With regard to the comment by MatalkcGavigan, I concur unequivocally on Celtic’s support in Canada. Just like the U.S. Canada is home to many ex-pats and indeed has towns and provinces such as Hamilton; Nova Scotia etc. Indeed, one of Celtic’s most important individuals is none other than Fergus McCann who identifies himself as being a Scots-Canadian and; who, single-handedly was responsible for a satellite beamback of the 1967 European Cup Final to many in Canada, at considerable expense. With regard to terms such as ‘calcio’, ‘fussball’, ‘voetball’ etc, I dont have a problem with. I completely agree with your assertion that ‘its a big world out there’ and and respect all cultures. Football after all is a world game. I just personally find it uneasy hearing the use of such terms as ‘soccer’ and ‘end zone’.
Thanks for the last three comments above. With regard to the comment by MatalkcGavigan, I concur unequivocally on Celtic’s support in Canada. Just like the U.S. Canada is home to many ex-pats and indeed has towns and provinces such as Hamilton; Nova Scotia etc. Indeed, one of Celtic’s most important individuals is none other than Fergus McCann who identifies himself as being a Scots-Canadian and; who, single-handedly was responsible for a satellite beamback of the 1967 European Cup Final to many in Canada, at considerable expense. With regard to terms such as ‘calcio’, ‘fussball’, ‘voetball’ etc, I dont have a problem with. I completely agree with your assertion that ‘its a big world out there’ and and respect all cultures. Football after all is a world game. I just personally find it uneasy hearing the use of such terms as ‘soccer’ and ‘end zone’. The main crux of the article is that I do not believe Celtic are ‘building the brand’ in a continent that is already home to a large number of our supporters; nor indeed, truly aware of our global pull.