The Celtics are a professional Scottish football (soccer) club founded in 1887 by Irish Catholic immigrants in Glasgow with the goal of raising money for needy Irish and Catholic families in the East End.
With the football team starting as an avenue for social and political change, it is no surprise that Celtics fans are overwhelmingly left-leaning.
Nearly 136 years after its formation, the football club still remains connected to its strong Irish roots.
The Irish, having witnessed the detrimental realities of settler colonialism firsthand, are one of Palestines’ most vocal supporters, so it is not uncommon for Celtics fans to regularly fly Palestinian flags at matches.
Amidst the genocide Israel is conducting in Gaza, many Celtics fans, especially those in the Green Brigade, are increasing their show of support, taking to the stadium to show their solidarity with Palestine.
Following repeated displays of solidarity with Palestine, Celtic’s “ultra” fan club, the Green Brigade, was recently banned from attending all further Celtic Football Club games this season.
Completely funded by fan and member donations and known for its “anti-fascist” political stance, the Green Brigade often creates political displays for issues across the globe.
The goal of the “ultra” club is to explore the intersection between football and politics, sending a meaningful political message while supporting their team and stimulating the environment of their home stadium, Celtic Park.
Formed in the summer of 2006, the Green Brigade is an openly political, Celtic “ultra” group showing “solidarity with causes from Ireland to Palestine.”
In the early days, the “ultra” group found their home in the back rows of Section 111 of Celtic Park, inciting fans from every section to come and join them.
As the Green Brigade continued to expand, Celtics Football Club was forced to talk business, offering the Green Brigade a block of 300 seats in Section 111.
