For the past four years we have covered Celtic FC Women extensively on The Celtic Star, and have been perhaps the most enthusiast supporters of Fran Alonso and now Elena Sadiku’s teams as they have emerged from a footballing wilderness to win two Scottish Cups, a League Cup and in May 2024 the SWPL1 title, making Celtic Scotland’s women’s champions for the first time ever.

In our articles on Celtic FC Women, which you can view HERE, you will notice that we have taken great care to refer to the coverage of the team as ‘Celtic FC Women’ in our headlines and you will notice that the team has it’s own category on The Celtic Star.

Celtic started by running a separate website for the women’s team before realising that the best way to build the team is via equal status on the main Celtic website at celticfc.com. Now if there’s for instance, a new signing the club will give that top billing on the official Celtic website regardless if it’s for Brendan or Elena’s side.

This season we will simply refer to the team as Celtic in the headlines rather than Celtic FC Women, which will be the category we use. Both our men and women sides are Champions of Scotland and both will play in the Champions League, this season.

Celtic are talking women’s football very seriously indeed. The multi-millions pounds development at Barrowfield shows that as does the backing Elena Sadiku has had in the transfer market so far this summer. Women’s football is here to stay and in Scotland we are at least a decade behind many European countries and also our near neighbours south of the border.

Celtic is at least heading in the right direction and in the SWPL1 the team is known as Celtic. On the Women’s Champions League they are Celtic and now in our headlines for the new season they will also be called Celtic.

A few comments yesterday complained about this claiming the headline about Elena Sadiku’s latest signing was somehow click-bait. If we wanted to use click-bait headlines to secure a few hits we’d have done that four years ago not waited until now. It’s never about that on The Celtic Star but it is always about status. Those player who recovered from the title heartache in 2023 to win the league in the closing stages of the 2024 campaign and break theRangers hearts, deserve to be called Celtic.

Using Celtic FC Women was always a courtesy on our part as we were at the early stages of building the team and trying to introduce the women’s game to the Celtic support. One of those commenting yesterday reckon that we are actually being paid to promote the club’s women’s side, presumably by Celtic! That is so not true that it is laughable and for the avoidance of doubt no-one else is paying us.

Caitlin Hayes with captain Kelly Clark of Celtic with their own take on what has happened with the withdrawal of the away fans tickets following their 1-1 draw during the ScottishPower Womens Premier League match. theRangers vs Celtic FC. Ibrox, 18/02/2024. Photo Colin Poultney/SWPL / PSI

The Celtic Star has a photographer and a reporter at just about every game, we get messed around occasionally by Celtic (as is their way) but always come back for more. If we don’t have our own photographer at a game we buy photos from other photographers who cover the women’s game for the SWPL and in doing so have build some really positive relationships.

When Celtic play Montrose in the League Cup the rest of the Celtic fan media, with the honourable exception of Cynic Women, will most likely show little or no interest. We will. When it’s a freezing cold Sunday evening at The Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie against Spartans or Dundee Utd, we’ll be there. It’s a journey we are on with the team and we’re not going to change that for the sake of satisfying a section of fellow supporters who have no interest in women’s football.

A Celtic huddle back in January, The Celtic Star was there to support the Ghirls..

Incidentally, some of our best Celtic games over the past few season include quite a few from the women’s team as well as the men’s. Should we refer to Celtic FC Men playing DC United this evening – and we have a reporter there at the game – or just Celtic?

The Celtic Star is equally proud of both Celtic teams, proud to be associated with both teams who are both the Champions of Scotland. Other Celtic fan media sites are available for those who see things differently as is their right.

Just thought that some clarity was needed on this.

Incidentally, and on a much lighter note, this is what I’ve been doing today alongside my better half…and bumped into Matt Corr of this parish too. Anywhere you go, you’re always likely to meet. fellow Celtic supporter!