Celtic and Rangers 'will join English Premier League'
Old Firm duo Celtic and Rangers will eventually join the English Premier League, according to Celtic’s largest shareholder Dermot Desmond.
The Irish entrepreneur claimed that fan demand as well as that of media organisations will eventually see the Scottish Premier League giants join one of the biggest leagues in the world.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live that: “The companies are directing Premier League policy and they'll decide it'll be a good thing if the pair joined.”
Proposal put to league members
There was a proposal put to the EPL clubs last year by Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside to restructure the league and bring in the Old Firm. However, the clubs voted against the plan.
At the time, EPL chief executive Peter Scudamore said that: "As regards to Celtic and Rangers it's a non-starter. So we've made a clear and unequivocal statement and we're going to move on from there. No means no.”
Celtic and Rangers are by far the biggest clubs in the SPL, with Celtic Park having a capacity of 60,837 and Ibrox being able to hold 51,082 supporters. The two clubs had average attendances last season of 45,582 and 47,564 respectively in the league, placing them far above the next best-supported club Heart of Midlothian with 14,484.
Huge fan bases
The main reason media companies would want the pair in the EPL though is their enormous worldwide fan bases, particularly Celtic. In 2008, Celtic were estimated to have around nine million fans around the globe, including one million in the United States and Canada, while Rangers have more than 600 fan clubs around the world.
That interest will increase demand for the television coverage of the league and media companies are likely to believe they will be able to charge a higher price for subscriptions should the Old Firm join the EPL.
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