With UEFA looking open to the idea, could Celtic be about to make a turnaround in the future in what could provide a massive cash boost to them?
The general proposal for an Atlantic League would involve Celtic and the Rangers along with Aberdeen and Hibernian joining up to form the regional league with teams from Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway as well. Hearts have been involved in the discussions too and they’ll be hoping to get back into the Premiership to avoid questions about their credentials.
Back in November, it was reported that Dermot Desmond and the Hoops were not interested in the idea of an Atlantic League, preferring instead to talk of a British league scenario.
A solution being found to let Celtic and the Rangers enter into what is currently the English Premier League seems unlikely. When it comes to clubs down South, the prospect of inviting the Glasgow giants into their midst always felt like turkeys voting for Christmas.
The global pandemic has not helped either. That situation needs to settle down before taking any radical decisions about new entrants. And there is little to zero chance for it to be considered for any other Scottish clubs.
The Celtic board may need a dramatic rethink now to sell season tickets for 2021/2022. Even if fans can be back in the stands, they’ll need a lot of hard work and investment in the club, manager and players to overcome the disappointment of the current campaign.
10IAR isn’t absolutely dead but it’s as close to that as possible. The next few months will be very difficult for Celtic fans who in turn will make it difficult for Desmond and the board. Could the Atlantic League prospect be a way to excite them and help fill the coffers on the accounting side even if it was a few years away?
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As the Glasgow Live report, UEFA have given the idea of the Atlantic League a general blessing and a green light, with president Aleksander Ceferin indicating support as long as the plans support the already established European competitions too:
"“At UEFA, we are thinking about regional leagues and we have been talking to the leaders of national federations about that.“More and more countries are interested in the possibility of a regional league because that would increase the value of clubs, as well as income from sponsors and the sale of TV rights.“UEFA, in principle, has nothing against regional leagues. The main problem is how to go from those leagues to European competitions. UEFA would have to solve that problem.“In addition, we do not want to create some regional leagues that would destroy national championships. So, regional leagues are a serious undertaking and nothing concrete has been decided yet, but it is being considered.”"
Something fresh is needed in football generally. Scottish football in particular, where income generation is extremely limited even with passionate fans at matches. Aberdeen’s chairman Dave Cormack recognises the value of an Atlantic League, it’s possibly essential for a club like his and why he spoke out to try and convince Desmond and Celtic to stay involved. Might it now be essential for the Parkhead club to reconsider as well?