Education, Culture and Sport Committee, 06 Dec 2000

Meeting date: Wednesday, December 6, 2000

Official Report 203KB pdf

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Celtic (Social Charter)

Johann Lamont put this item on Celtic's social charter on the agenda; unfortunately, she is not with us this morning. Members have a note highlighting some of the issues that she raised following the visit to Celtic Football Club. As the only other person present today who was there, I will say a few words.

My impression was that Celtic FC is keen to ensure that young people are given the message that the club was set up in response to local needs and not in relation to any sectarian assumptions that may have grown up with it. It is working hard to get across to the young people who go on its organised visits the fact that it does not wish to be associated with sectarianism of any sort. It wants to be part of the wider community and to involve the young supporters in what it is doing. The club sees the benefits of having the support of the young people who feel strongly about their team and of putting across a message to them.

As Johann Lamont says in her note, it is important that we support projects such as this to ensure that the message is put across that sectarianism is not acceptable in any venue. We should support teams such as Celtic. I know that other teams are involved in similar projects.

I would like to thank Celtic for its hospitality and for the way in which it welcomes young people into the club. Celtic is taking very positive action and I am happy to be associated with it.

The Official Report of this meeting will show that the committee strongly supports this initiative. Would it be possible to take that a stage further and to indicate our public support for it through a motion from the convener, signed by members of the committee and placed on the business bulletin?

I am more than happy to take up that suggestion.

I support that. Johann Lamont has given us a full note of her response to this project. Will that be included in a minute somewhere?

It will be attached to the minutes of this meeting.

That is fine. I was not able to go on the visit, although I would have liked to—for all sorts of reasons. I was at a Liberal Democrat coffee morning or something similar, which is much less attractive in some ways. However, I received the material connected with the campaign and commend it highly.

Will you inform each of us when the motion has been lodged, so that we can add our names to it?

I will e-mail members when the motion has been lodged.