The Celtic fans are known all over the world for their work in raising money for charity and supporting good causes in Scotland and abroad.
They are also renowned for their support of the team no matter where Celtic play around the globe whether it be in a friendly or competitively in the Champions League.
However, there is a fixture coming up this summer that is a little bit closer to home and one that has resonated with the Celtic support which has caused huge interest within the fanbase.
And it is a fixture that Celtic’s opponents are set to benefit from hugely by the time it comes around on the 5th of July.
Ayr United’s financial windfall boosted by Celtic fans
We discussed how Celtic announced a friendly date with Scott Brown‘s Ayr United on the 5th of July next month at Somerset Park.
Due to popular demand amongst the Hoops support, Ayr decided to give the Celtic extra tickets by allocating another stand to the away side.
Here, Ayr’s Managing Director, Graeme Mathie, explains why the extra stand was offered to the Celtic support with an explanation of how much money the Championship club is set to earn from the fixture.
Mathie said [Ayr Advertiser print edition page 40], “We’re going to have six thousand of one team and four thousand of another, and we are unlikely to get six thousand Ayr fans for this game.
“We have sold out the Railway End and the West Enclosure, and have just under 1200 tickets sold for the home end.
“It’s important for us to make a decision, and that is if we keep Celtic support in current areas, then we are likely to be under capacity by somewhere between 2500 and 3000.
“This equates to somewhere between £40-50,000 in income.
“I know the Somerset Road end is the historical home for Ayr United fans. But when we are trying to be competitive as a football club, that money is a good level of starting player in the Scottish Championship.
“That is why we’ve made the decision to release the Somerset Road end to Celtic fans, and we hope we can sell the remaining 4000 tickets to Ayr United fans.”
So it seems that with the number of Celtic fans being allowed to attend the match, the game in the south coast is likely to have a nice home feel to it.
Clearly the draw for the Celtic fans, apart from seeing their heroes, is Scott Brown. With the sheer number of fans heading to Ayr that night, it is proof that Broony still holds a special place in the Parkhead supporters’ hearts.
Tickets for the friendly can still be purchased for the 7:45pm kick-off at Somerset Park at Celtic FC.