How to start a Celtic Supporters' Club in your city

Celtic Supporters’ Clubs, CSCs, have met in North American bars for decades, tied together by the North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs, which keeps the list of clubs in the US and Canada and runs an annual convention. Celtic itself registers clubs through a form on its site and names a Supporter Liaison Officer for them. Matchday for a US CSC is a morning: a Scottish Premiership kickoff lands before most bars open, so the pub that unlocks the door for you is the club. This guide covers what is known about registering, what to have ready, and how to get found.

What Celtic requires

• Register with the club. Celtic’s supporters clubs hub has a Register Your Club section, a Supporters’ Club Registration Form, a Supporters’ Club Ticket Requests section, a North America section and a Supporter Liaison Officer. The pages load as an app and showed us only their headings, so we cannot quote a minimum membership, a fee or a naming rule from them. Use the form and ask the liaison officer for anything it does not cover.
• Get listed with the Federation. The North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs says any Celtic Supporters Club in North America should be listed on its site, that there is no charge for being listed, and that every club must confirm or update its information at least once a year or its listing is deleted. Details go to webmaster@nafcsc.com.
• The Foundation is optional. The Celtic FC Foundation works with CSCs that want to raise money for it, through their own events or its campaigns, and asks clubs to email it to talk through ideas.

Before you apply

• A pub that will open for a 7:30 am or 10 am kickoff and put the sound on, every Saturday and for the midweek European nights.
• A few founding members who will be there at that hour, not only for the Old Firm.
• A name. North American clubs are commonly the place name followed by CSC, or Celtic Supporters Club spelled out. Check the Federation's list first.
• An Instagram or Facebook account with the pub, the kickoff routine and a way to message you.
• One person to hold the relationship with the pub and one to hold the club and Federation contacts.

Getting recognized

1. 1
   Check the Federation's list

   The locations page lists clubs in the US and Canada. If your metro has one, join it before you start another.
2. 2
   Register with Celtic

   Use the Supporters’ Club Registration Form. Have the pub, the contacts and the member list ready, and ask the Supporter Liaison Officer about anything the form leaves open, including whether the club sets a minimum size.
3. 3
   Send your details to the Federation

   Club name, pub, city, contacts and socials to webmaster@nafcsc.com. Listing is free, and the listing is how other North American CSCs and travelling fans find you.
4. 4
   Put the annual update in the calendar

   The Federation deletes listings that are not confirmed or updated at least once a year. Assign it to a named person.

After you are official

• Announce it from your account and the pub’s, and tell the nearest other CSCs.
• Meet every match. Scottish Cup on a Sunday morning included.
• Keep the schedule public. Next kickoff in local time and, for Celtic more than most clubs, the doors-open time.
• Go to the convention when you can. It is where a new club meets the ones that have done this for forty years.

List the chapter on SoccerMapd

SoccerMapd’s where-to-watch page for Celtic lists chapters by metro and links each one, next to the week’s fixtures in local time and the US TV channel where it is announced. A club that lists itself appears there for its city, on the Celtic team page and in the supporters club directory. Say whether you are registered with the club, listed with the Federation, both or neither yet; all of them belong on the map.

Once listed, ask for the schedule console link and tick the matches you are showing. The supporters club guide walks through it. No account is needed and nothing costs anything.

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