Celtic FC Women Coverage Update

As many of you know, it has been a labour of love over the last six years, supporting, following, promoting and cheerleading for Celtic FC Women. A bit of background…it all started with going to games towards the end of 2019, just before the excitement of professionalisation hit with Fran Alonso’s appointment in January 2020. It was a huge moment with Celtic, alongside others in the league seemingly committing to a professional team unlike anything we had seen before at the club. At The Cynic, we felt that if the club were taking this team seriously then so should we. Our coverage has, of course, evolved over the years. The first ever podcast recorded spontaneously and excitedly following Kelly Clark’s famous last minute goal to beat Glasgow City at K Park under the new Spanish manager has led to regular output of which we are very proud. 

I have led the coverage since then, driven by a passion for promoting women’s football at Celtic  and in Scotland. We have consistently produced regular podcasts, posted on social media, written articles, done post match interviews, attended press conferences and conducted interviews with players. All this has been facilitated by the unparalleled access and collaborative relationships we have been able to build at the club. When we first started, there was no formal media accreditation, no official media team to speak of, everyone was learning as we went and growing on the job. The professionalisation of the set up around the women’s team has been hugely welcome, lending legitimacy to the team, the players and the women’s game. 

As the game grew and new milestones were hit in terms of attendances, games played at Celtic Park, increased visibility across club media channels, we were proud to be part of something moving in a positive direction. We of course would moan about setbacks and challenges presented by the club itself and the wider football environment, but overall, we were generally looking back with amazement at how far things had moved in such a relatively short space of time. We have always tried to be fair and critical in our coverage, granting the women’s game the respect it deserves. It is serious football and it should be spoken about as such, including the praise and criticism that comes with that. 

To the present day. Discourse around the wider running of the club, the undetermined role of fan media, changes of personnel and a sense that the club itself is pulling back on the forward momentum of supporting the women’s game has meant we find ourselves at a complete and unprecedented impasse in terms of access and communication. The Cynic, including coverage of the women’s game, is sanctioned under a total ban of fan media across the club. This means that our ability to speak to the manager and players and to create images at home games as we have been used to doing on a regular basis for a number of years has been completely removed. It has made things very difficult, to feel that you are fighting with the very entity for which a passion and fandom has compelled you to be involved with is a horrible place to be. This is especially true when it seems to come with no meaningful route to rectifying the situation.

With that in mind, I have come to the tricky decision to pull back on the level of coverage we have been producing, at least until the end of this season. Our hand has already been forced by the access issues and trying to find ways round these restrictions has just become too challenging and has taken a very personal toll. For myself, I want to go back to just being a fan again and remembering why we all follow Celtic FC Women. The people who support this team are unbelievably precious bringing their vociferous devotion, dedication and loyalty to wherever the team is playing, whether it be a freezing Stenhousemuir for a midweek Scottish Cup game, or Stamford Bridge for the Champions League. It is an absolute privilege to feel part of that community and I am so immensely grateful for all the support folk have shown me and us over the years. We will still produce a regular weekly podcast on The Cynic subscription service but everything else, social media, photography, match reports etc… will be scaled back. Hopefully over the coming months a resolution can be found and regular service can be resumed at some point. If not, we will reassess the situation in the summer. Until then you will find me without my camera, shouting from the stands as we head towards another potential league victory under the new manager Grant Scott. Thanks a million to everyone who has shown any support for what we do, you know who you are and you are all legends. 

HH

Clare x