A comprehensive analysis of Monday Night Meeting at Celtic Park

Review of Non-Executive Directors Request plus Questions for Celtic AGM

During the recent meeting between club officials and supporter groups, fan representative Paul Quigley requested a review of Non-Executive Directors…

Paul suggested that an external review of Non-Executive Directors on the Board is required. Michael Nicholson said he will take that suggestion to the Board. This proposal is timely, given growing scrutiny over governance, tenure, and accountability at Celtic plc.

The numbers speak for themselves. Under AIM’s softer governance regime, Celtic plc faces no binding obligation to refresh its board after nine years. But independence and oversight are critical. Here is the tenure of Celtic’s current board members:

The risks highlighted by corporate governance experts, entrenched power, ossified culture, diminished independence, are evident here.  Directors with decades of service inevitably form close ties to management and the controlling shareholder.  Challenging old strategies becomes awkward when you helped design them. Boardroom debate dries up, innovation stalls, and the critical lens supporters might hope for becomes dulled.

Celtic will argue continuity breeds stability. And to an extent, they have a point. The club has dominated Scottish football, remained profitable, reached the Champions League in six of the last ten seasons, and benefited from profitable player sales. But stability in the boardroom is NOT the same as accountability, and success on the pitch does not immunise against governance risk.

A prominent supporter contacted The Celtic Star recently to remind fellow shareholders of a facility created in 2022 to allow questions to be submitted directly to Celtic’s Company Secretary in advance of the AGM. These questions must be answered either at the meeting itself or in advance.

The supporter explained:

“Did you know this facility to ask questions at any time before an AGM existed? It is a genuine attempt to improve the quality of questions posed or issues addressed before an AGM. I know because I helped develop it in 2022 with the Company Secretary who wanted improved communications to address common issues.”

He is urging shareholders NOT to wait until the week before the AGM, when other resolutions may dominate the agenda. Shareholders can use or adapt the following template to submit questions directly to [email protected] (include full name and SRN from your share certificate).  Copy in the Celtic Supporters Trust at [email protected] if you want to amplify collective shareholder influence.

Subject: Questions for the 2025 AGM – Celtic plc

Dear Company Secretary,

As a shareholder, I respectfully submit the following questions in advance of the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Celtic plc.

Celtic was founded with a clear ethos and purpose rooted in community, charity, and identity. To ensure alignment between this founding purpose, the responsibilities of the Board, and the expectations of shareholders and supporters, I would be grateful if you could address the following:

Purpose – What does the Board consider to be the fundamental Purpose of Celtic Football Club?
Vision – What is the Vision of the Board for Celtic’s future?
Strategy – What Strategy has the Board adopted to achieve this Purpose and Vision?
Policies – What Policies are in place to support and deliver the Strategy?
Indicators – What Indicators or measures does the Board use to assess whether the Purpose, Vision, Strategy, and Policies are being achieved in practice?

I respectfully ask that the Board’s responses provide clarity, substance, and measurable indicators so that shareholders can understand how governance decisions align with the ethos and long-term direction of Celtic Football Club.

Yours faithfully,

[Full Name]
[Share Reference Number]
[Certificate Number]

It is vital that shareholders press the board directly on what the club’s real purpose and direction is. The 2025 AGM is likely to take place in November or December. Now is the time to raise fundamental issues. The more shareholders use this facility, the louder the collective voice becomes.

Questions about Purpose, Vision, Strategy, and Accountability go to the very heart of the club. If the board is unwilling to provide clarity, shareholders and supporters are entitled to ask, who exactly are they serving?

Supporters and shareholders are encouraged to use this facility. The upcoming 2025 AGM, provides a concrete platform to demand transparency and challenge the entrenched board.

Combined with calls for an external review of NEDs, coordinated shareholder engagement could be the most effective tool the Celtic Fans Collective has to ensure accountability and inject fresh thinking into a board that has become long-tenured, close-knit, and potentially too comfortable with the status quo.

Ultimately, the core question remains, do Celtic’s directors retain the independence, courage, and willingness to challenge when it matters? Shareholders and supporters now have the tools, and the timing, to find out.

Niall J

Continues on the next page…Celtic’s culture of risk aversion, of comfort, of self-satisfaction disguised as prudence…