Thanks to your support it’s been yet another incredibly successful year for Celtic FC Foundation, despite the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to have a major impact on so many.

Against a backdrop of financial and personal difficulties, the Foundation has been able to count on the Celtic Family’s unwavering support throughout the toughest of times.

And with 2022 just around the corner, we thought it appropriate to delve into the past 12 months and reflect on Celtic FC Foundation’s top five highlights of 2021:

CHRISTMAS APPEAL

A fitting starting point to our list, we recently announced that this year’s Appeal has been the most successful to date, raising an astonishing £380,000 and bringing the Football for Good Fund total to over £2MILLION.

Whether it be bucket collections, sleep out events, or everything in between, Celtic supporters have proven once again that their kindness and generosity is unrivalled. As the great Tommy Burns once famously said: ‘They’re there, and they’re always there,’ and he was absolutely right.

AMBASSADORS

We announced the appointment of three magnificent Ambassadors back in October – Martin Compston, Tony Curran and Gianni Capaldi.

The Scottish acting trio, who are also friends, are all lifelong Celtic supporters, with a strong passion for and commitment to the work of the Foundation. Going forward, they will collectively promote the Foundation to an international audience, support our fundraising and project delivery efforts and help us to explore new opportunities.

RETURN OF IN-PERSON EVENTS

Following a long 14-month wait, physical events returned in June in the form of the Celtic Skydive and our annual Golf Day.

A month later and 112 brave fans took part in the Zip Slide in Paradise, becoming the first supporters to take part in a fundraising event at Celtic Park since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was a huge milestone for the Foundation, with a raft of live fundraising events following this, including two food drives, the JT90 pilgrimage and various Christmas Appeal-related fundraisers.

RETURN OF PROJECT DELIVERY AT CELTIC PARK

Following a year of virtual delivery, our CashBack Gateway to Employment programme became the first project to return to our Learning Centre at Celtic Park.

A number of projects followed, and the past year has seen the Foundation continue to engage a broad range of groups through employability projects, health and wellbeing initiatives, diversionary work, and disability sport activities.

THE FOOTBALL FOR GOOD FUND

It goes without saying that our main focus this past year has been geared towards helping those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the banner of the Football for Good Fund (FFGF), we have focused on tackling three key issues – assisting those are facing food poverty, offering financial assistance to offset increased fuel costs, and providing mental health support to those who need it most in Scotland, Ireland, the wider UK and overseas.

We have now surpassed the monumental FFGF milestone of £2MILLION, following our most successful Christmas Appeal to date and with the pandemic continuing to affect so many, the FFGF remains our immediate focus.

All of the above has been made possible through your generosity and dedication – so please do not ever underestimate the difference you have made.

Thank you – and onwards to 2022.