Clips on Sky Sports News. Premier Sports live coverage of the game. Eyes on Airdrie this Sunday afternoon.
As someone once said, there is a buzz about the place.
Quite what making it into the Champions League proper might do for Celtic’s women’s side would be intriguing to see. And the subsequent drip into the SWPL.
Elena Sadiku’s side will look to take a significant step towards doing just that as Celtic aim to claim Champions League football for the first time in their history as they battle it out with Vorskla Poltava in the first leg of their Round Two UEFA Champions League clash at noon.
It is unchartered waters for Celtic women’s side whose first ever league title opened the door to a more negotiable pathway into a competition that has becoming increasingly prestigious in recent seasons.
The money from competing at the 16-team group stage will feel laughable to what Rodgers’ side have banked this season from the men’s equivalent.
Indeed, even the win itself on Wednesday night – around £2m for the 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava - would be FIVE times what Sadiku’s side would bank from a successful passage into the groups with an estimated £400k the guaranteed return.
Read more:
- Winning Champions League opener will have turbo charged Celtic's mood
- Captain Kelly Clark hungry to achieve Champions League dream at Celtic
It is paltry in a business sense for a club whose accounts would make Jeff Bezos raise a toast. Yet, with the chasm between Europe and the SWPL widening every season, it would be a return to have a Scottish team competing at elite level. It is also a tournament that remains in an embryonic stage in UEFA terms with further commercial gains expected across the coming years.
It ought to be in Celtic’s favour that both legs of the tie will be played in Airdrie; today and then the second leg on Thursday, given the circumstances around their Ukrainian opponents although the clash with Brendan Rodgers’ side who are in action against Falkirk in the League Cup won’t do them too many favours.
When the draw was originally made Poland was suggested as a potential base for Vorskla while Celtic Park was also wanted by Sadiku.
However, the women’s team have access only to a certain number of games at the stadium with the feeling being that should they progress into the group stages of the Champions League that Celtic Park would then tick all the right boxes with UEFA requirements and in terms of trying to attract supporters into the ground.
Certainly, when it comes to putting the team on the map and cranking up the interest it would be intriguing to see what influence being in the Champions League would offer. The season before last as Fran Alonso’s side were battling it out in a three-way fight for a title that eventually went Glasgow City’s way, Celtic Park attracted a record number of supporters into the ground for a women’s SWPL game.
Having pulled in a crowd of 9,553 for a midweek game against City which Alonso’s side won 3-1, they went significantly better on the final day of that season with 15,822 inside the ground for the conclusive league game against Hearts, a record that still stands.
Those numbers were fudged given that a trial for a new section – the Celtic End – was used in the games but they had unambiguously succeeded in breathing life into the stadiums and into the matches.
The post-match consensus from the players involved was that it gave them something entirely different from what they had been used to.
Last season as they took the final step and got their hands on the title for the first time, numbers were down from the previous season.
With the club refusing to facilitate a repeat of the Celtic End for the games there was a statement released by the Green Brigade last March as they took the stance of refusing to attend the women’s games.
Finding a resolution to this would be in the best interests of all concerned. The self-appointed ‘ultras’ of the club will not have a universal appeal across the Celtic fanbase but what they do have is an ability to bang a metaphorical drum.
Both Sadiku and Kelly Clark were at pains during their pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon to appeal for supporters to give them any kind of backing. They deserve to get it as they look to take the club into virgin territory.
Read more:
- Ex-Rangers ace Vladimir Weiss prompts X-rated Celtic rant
- Summer signing Luke McCowan doesn’t look out of place at Celtic
AND ANOTHER THING
It is not just all about the Champions League this weekend as Heart of Midlothian host Rangers in the SWPL and Glasgow City return to Petershill with Hibs their opponents.
Hearts had a huge say in the run-in to the title last term as they took points from Rangers in Edinbrugh. Eva Olid has been hugely impressive since being appointed with an improvement every season at the Tynecastle club.
Rangers have started the season ferociously as they have steamrolled their way past all before them. There is a clear bit between the teeth for Jo Potter’s side who were pipped to last season’s title in the final minutes of last season.
Olid suggested that she has enjoyed watching her side this term given the assurance with which they have played and the goals they have scored. This afternoon will offer a measure of just where they are.
AND FINALLY
Emma Hayes and Alisha Lehmann hit the headlines this week as the subject of equal pay was raised again in women’s football.
But the chasm between both is eye watering.
