The Evolution of the Celtic View: From Newspaper to Magazine

On an August day in 1965, a four-page, black-and-white newspaper quietly changed how a football club spoke to its own people.

The first issue of the Celtic View hit the streets on August 11 that year, its front page dominated by a photograph of the newly crowned Scottish Cup winners and their manager, Jock Stein. No gloss. No colour. Just a club, a trophy, and a bold idea.

The idea belonged to Jack McGinn, a former newspaperman with a feel for ink, headlines and timing. He would later become chairman of Celtic, but his legacy was already in motion long before the boardroom beckoned. The Celtic View, his brainchild, would go on to become the oldest club publication in football – a constant voice through eras, managers, trophies and turbulence.

What began as a weekly paper has grown into something very different. Today, the Celtic View is a 100-page glossy quarterly magazine, and the latest issue leans fully into celebration. It turns its spotlight on all things Celtic, with the club’s Double-winning triumph from last season running like a green-and-white thread through its pages.

This edition is heavy with voices. Martin O’Neill sits down to reflect, his name forever tied to Celtic’s modern history and trophy-laden years. Current captain Callum McGregor adds the perspective of a leader in the here and now, while Alistair Johnston offers the view from the back line, a defender who has quickly grasped what it means to wear the shirt.

There is reaction from the champions themselves, a chorus of those who delivered the Double. Viljami Sinisalo, Arne Engels, Kelechi Iheanacho, Callum Osmand, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Forrest and Liam Scales all feature, each with their own piece of the story to tell. Some are new to the club’s narrative, others are woven into its fabric, but all of them speak from inside a winning dressing room.

The magazine steps beyond domestic borders too. A substantial section is devoted to World Cup Celts, underlining how far the club’s reach now extends. Kieran Tierney, Anthony Ralston, Auston Trusty, Alistair Johnston, Benjamin Nygren, Sebastian Tounekti, Daizen Maeda and Yang all come under the lens, their international journeys tracked and tied back to Celtic Park.

The women’s game is given its rightful stage. The Women’s Scottish Cup run is explored through the eyes of those at the heart of it – head coach Grant Scott, captain Kelly Clark, goalkeeper Adelaide Gay and forward Morgan Cross. Their stories carry the same themes that have defined Celtic for decades: pressure, resilience, and the refusal to step back when silverware is in sight.

Around the interviews sit the kind of features that give the magazine its depth and nostalgia. Henrik Larsson’s World Cup memories are revisited, a reminder of a striker who once seemed to bend time and space in a Celtic shirt. The “Story of the Season” pulls together the key moments from the latest campaign, while “Martin O’Neill’s Trophy Triumphs” reopens a chapter that still glows brightly for supporters.

There is room too for the drama that defines so many Celtic campaigns. “Celtic’s Late, Late Shows” relives those stoppage-time punches that have turned tension into euphoria. “Nygren’s Numbers” digs into the data behind Benjamin Nygren’s impact, while “Last-Day Title Wins” returns to those nerve-shredding afternoons when everything rested on 90 minutes.

James Forrest, one of the most decorated players in the club’s history, is honoured with a look at his remarkable medal haul, a career’s worth of honours that tracks the club’s modern success. For those who like to test their memory rather than simply relive it, there is a World Cup Quiz to pick over too.

From a four-page black-and-white sheet to a 100-page glossy celebration, the Celtic View has grown up alongside the club it serves. The latest issue, available this week in official Celtic stores and online, doesn’t just document another season.

It shows how a simple newspaper idea from 1965 became part of Celtic’s identity – and how that story is still being written.