Celtic View: The story behind Eriskay's passion for Celtic | OneFootball

The latest 100-page Celtic View has plenty of unique features and one of those documents some of the many teams around the world that share the hoops with the Celts.

From the well-known Sporting in Portugal to the lesser-known FC Sete in France, Celtic is far from the only side in world football to do the famous green and white in its hooped form.

There is one side closer to home that also wears this shirt, and in their story, they have Celtic to thank.

Eriskay Football Club, the small island team in the Outer Hebrides, has been running for more than 70 years and from day one they have worn the green and white hoops, all because of their love for Celtic.

In the latest issue of the Celtic View, Eriskay player Stephen Campbell took the time to speak about their historical links with Celtic, the reason behind their hooped shirts and the passion that remains on the island for the Bhoys.

This is a short extract from the full interview which you can read exclusively in the Celtic View which you can purchase in Celtic Superstores or online here.

Stephen said: “It’s always been that Eriskay has played in green and white and the reason for that is Celtic.

“Established in the 1950s, they played a Sunday league which was organised by different parishes and they would have Mass in the morning and football in the afternoon.

“This is a predominantly Catholic island and I think from those early days everyone followed Celtic and that’s where the hoops came from, and still to this day everyone supports Celtic.

“Pretty much everyone loves wearing the hoops, but there is one person on the island that doesn’t support Celtic and he is our manager! who supports the team on the other side.

"He used to play for us, which means he has worn the hoops, so we managed to get him in it a few times which makes us laugh.

“You’re just brought up with Celtic being the team for you. It’s how you’re raised and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

So deep is the passion for Celtic, Stephen is part of a faithful crowd that heads down to Paradise for every home game.

But considering they live such a distance away and with the travel constraints of being on an island, getting to Celtic Park doesn’t always go to plan.

He added: “There’s four or five of us with season tickets that sit in section 401, and we try and get down as much as we can.

“Travel issues are part and parcel of living here, so we've been sitting in the airport for a couple of hours and the plane just doesn’t arrive.

"Through the winter the weather isn’t fantastic, you can be all set up to catch a ferry and then it’s not sailing because there’s a storm.

"We leave our tickets on the mainland with another pal so that if we can’t make it then they can dish them out to other people so they are still used.

“I’ve left here at 4am for Champions League games and I’m back in Eriskay at 9am the next morning.

"There’s nothing else like it when you go into Celtic Park and the place is full and rocking. I honestly believe there is no other place like it."