WHILE some people are getting a little hot under the collar as they contemplate the breaking news that Scottish football will be back and will begin behind closed doors, there’s also a sense of excitement that there’s a road map emerging as to when we’re likely to be back watch The Bhoys playing.

And while we wait for Celtic to communicate with the support (statement out now see below!) – that is apparently happening tomorrow – we can start to paint of more informed picture on what supporting Celtic will look like next season. One thing is for sure it’s going to be a season like no-other.

“We want our fans to stay as close to the Club and be part of everything we do. It is imperative we cater for the needs of our supporters. These proposals are great news."

Celtic Football Club welcomes the work undertaken by the @spfl and @SkySports.

Full statement ⬇️

— Celtic Football Club (from 🏡) (@CelticFC) June 3, 2020

Quadruple and Quintuple Trebles, 10IAR, Virtual Season Tickets for BCD football then fans back end of the year!

So what do we now know? The Scottish Premiership is going to start in early August BEHIND CLOSED DOORS and the SPFL have done a deal with Sky to sponsor the league. There will be no Scottish Premiership games on BT Sport after Sky Sports successfully edged their rival out of the picture when the new contract was being pitched for pre-coronavirus.

The season will start as expected behind closed doors with fans possibly returning to partial allocations in either November or December, with normal numbers being applicable from January 2021.

VIRTUAL SEASON TICKETS are going to be introduced and Sky have agreed to clubs streaming their home games out to season ticket holders – there will NOT be an additional cost for the virtual season ticket on top of your normal season ticket, as has been suggested on social media. This is NOT the case.

Talks are on-going to allow supporters to watch away games – the sensible solution would be to allow all SPFL season ticket holders access to their club’s games – home and away and this is possibly where things will end up.

SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP TO RETURN AS PART OF NEW DEAL WITH SKY SPORTS

This from the SPFL website:

SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP SCHEDULED TO RESUME IN AUGUST

The Scottish Professional Football League and Sky Sports have agreed terms that provide a framework for the top-flight of Scottish football to resume in August.

The Scottish Premiership clubs will create a ‘virtual season ticket’ for the 2020/21 season, providing an alternative source of matchday income while social distancing measures prevent fans from attending matches. During the 2020/21 season, each Premiership club will be able to sell a package to season ticket holders to watch all home games.

From August, Sky Sports will be the only broadcaster to offer live coverage of the SPFL with 48 games available on the new home of Scottish football, as Celtic aim to make history and win a tenth consecutive title. The return of a new season in Scotland at the beginning of August would follow on from the conclusion of the English Premier League season.

The SPFL and Sky have also agreed to spread the financial settlement for the games unable to be completed in Season 2019/20 across the term of the new five-year contract, providing security and financial stability to the competition and its clubs.

SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster said: “This is an innovative and pragmatic solution to the challenges posed by Covid-19 and I’m grateful for the flexibility shown by our clubs and by Sky Sports.

“This agreement means that any liability for games not delivered during Season 2019/20 has now been settled, on terms that reflect Sky’s status as a committed partner and supporter of Scottish football.”

Rob Webster, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: “Sky Sports is proud of our long-standing relationship with Scottish football and we have been committed to finding a positive solution for the SPFL and clubs. The virtual season ticket for the 2020/21 season is an innovative way to maintain the connection with fans and provide economic stability for the clubs, and we are very happy to support it.

“The new season promises to be a unique experience for the Scottish Premiership and our approach is to be as flexible and supportive of the clubs as we can be in these unique times.”

Celtic’s on the ball again 🎶pic.twitter.com/T7OUBI1ChV

— 🍀 Celtic1967.com 🍀 (@Celtic1967_com) June 3, 2020

ABERDEEN FC OUTLINE THE RETURN TO ACTION PLAN TO THEIR SUPPORT

Aberdeen’s Dave Cormack has been communicating with his club’s support today via the Aberdeen FC website and we can learn a few things from looking at what the Dons Chief Executive has been saying:

MESSAGE TO THE RED ARMY

AFC welcomes the Sky deal brokered by the SPFL. Given the current circumstances we find ourselves in, it is an excellent deal and we really appreciate Sky’s constructive, partnership approach.

From the outset our commitment to supporters has been to deliver full value for our season ticket holders. Under this deal, AFC will be able to offer virtual access to season ticket holders for all closed-door home games and will continue to work with our colleagues at fellow Premiership clubs to explore potential arrangements to show away games.

There will be costs involved for us in implementing this broadcast deal but, allied with the suggested timetable for getting back to football, it gives us more certainty to develop a virtual package that will offer our season ticket holders and seasonal corporate clients the exclusive opportunity to watch the team in action once again.

Over 6,400 fans have supported the Club by purchasing a season ticket for which we thank you. While we finalise the details for a full-value package, my plea is that you continue to place your trust in me and the Club by buying season tickets because, for those who can, your support is still very much needed. Our guarantee is that we will make sure your season ticket is money well spent.

We’re really excited about getting back to training later this month with a view to closed door games kicking off at the start of August and, whilst we appreciate we are operating under ever-changing circumstances, we’re preparing, and hoping, to return to Pittodrie with partial crowds from November or December and full crowds in January 2021.

Various details on the packages available follow before Cormack concludes…

It’s going to be a long road back to Pittodrie but we’re committed to getting through this together and over the next few weeks we are going to take the fans on a journey to demonstrate what they can expect when we return.

From the Red Shed to Fan Zones, it will be truly memorable. We are all working hard behind the scenes to put these things in place to proactively deliver and do the right thing for our fans and our community.

Dave Cormack

CELTIC SLO John Paul Taylor has been busy answering Celtic Supporters’ questions on these developments this afternoon.

“For those asking, at the moment we don’t have many details on the Virtual ST, not clear at this stage if non ST’s can buy. CelticFC will announce more details in the next day or so,” JP tweeted.

For those asking, at the moment we don’t have many details on the Virtual ST, not clear at this stage if non ST’s can buy. @CelticFC will announce more details in the next day or so

— Celtic FC SLO (@CelticFCSLO) June 3, 2020

Celtic season ticket holder Laura Ness makes a very good point. “Are we going to have to pay our season tickets at full price to watch the games at home? That seems expensive….. will we get some kind of discount?! We have 2 adult season tickets So will it be £50+ to watch 1 game on TV?”

Are we going to have to pay our season tickets at full price to watch the games at home?? That seems expensive….. will we get some kind of discount?! We have 2 adult season tickets So will it be £50+ to watch 1 game on TV? 🤷😡 @CelticFC @CelticFCSLO

— Laura Ness ☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💚 (@ness1_laura) June 3, 2020

There will be many families with more that two season ticket holders in the household so this will mean an even higher price, but these are the kind of issues that Celtic will be looking at now.

We carried an article at the weekend outlining the significance of the season ticket for what will an historic season for Celtic. The 2020 Scottish Cup semi-final and final will be played at the start of next year with the 2021 final a few months later in May 2021. There’s the chance that Celtic will winning both the Quadruple and Quintuple Trebles in the first half of next year and that will also mean we’ve won TEN IN A ROW!

Those cup games are going to be played with supporters so the ONLY way to get a ticket is to be a season ticket holder and be on the club’s HCTS. Aberdeen fans have been renewing in admirable numbers to support their club. Celtic fans will do likewise.

A bit of humour…

Ok virtual ST Celtic TV. Bring her home. #CelticDas pic.twitter.com/mr5Xhq80qo

— Timothy Leary (@sharko67) June 3, 2020

Last word to @paulthetim who is going to do something he’s not done in over a decade – watch a live Celtic game on an electronic device.

Last time I watched a Celtic game live on tv was 2008Gonny be weird watching Celtic on tv next season. hopefully get back in to stadiums by Christmas

— Paul the tim (@paulthetim) June 3, 2020