How fantastic Kano Foundation keeps an old Celtic tradition alive

It was when young kids would ask an older person to grant them passage into a football stadium to watch their favourite team by way of being physically lifted over the turnstiles barring entry to the ground.

The Kano Foundation is keeping that wonderful football tradition going and indeed putting a modern-day twist on being 'lifted over the turnstiles' by taking kids to a football match free of charge. When that game just happens to involve Celtic then it becomes a different experience entirely.

"Since season 2010-11 we have been giving kids a matchday experience they will never forget by providing them with a modern-day ‘lift over the turnstile’," the Foundation's website reads. "Working with groups, schools, and individuals from all over the UK and Ireland, we’re giving them the opportunity to attend Celtic games and experience professional sporting events."

The Foundation's mission statement is that all children, regardless of background and circumstance, should have access to sports and professional sporting events. And so say all of us.

The Celtic Way caught up with Claire Murray, a trustee of The Kano Foundation, to find out more about exactly who they are and what they do.

"The Kano Foundation takes kids to football games - that is at the root of what we do basically," she said. "We have 188 season tickets at Celtic Park just behind the goals in the Lisbon Lions stand, some people might have seen and heard the kids on matchday or seen them going mad armed with their hats and scarves.

"Anyone can apply to The Kano Foundation regardless of their background and where they are from. We provide the kids with a matchday experience at no cost to themselves, their clubs, parents or schools."

A typical Saturday 3pm kick-off at Parkhead would see everybody eat lunch together at St Michael's Church hall on the Gallowgate, where kids are also provided with their own goodie bag which includes the all-important Kano Foundation green-and-white scarf as well as a hat.

"There are two different days that the kids get depending on whether it's a night game or a weekend game," Murray added. "During night games, the protocol is slightly different in that the kids get a voucher for a hot meal from the kiosks inside the ground before they attend the game.

Jacob, from Belfast, met Stephen Welsh the day he became the 13,000th kid the Kano Foundation helped attend a match (Image: Kano Foundation)

"If it is a weekend game then we all meet at St Michael's Church hall in the Gallowgate and we provide lunch for the kids. I am sure you can imagine what it is like dealing with 150 kids at any one time in a church hall - it is absolute chaos. It is a wall of noise because they are having such a good time.

"They get a Kano Foundation-branded goodie bag containing juice, crisps and a hat and a scarf to wear to the game. They sometimes get an art print as a souvenir too as a little extra at times as Geo Thomson, who does a lot of Celtic prints, does the artwork for us.

"Then the kids will get safety instructions from the Kano Foundation group of matchday volunteers, who are amazing with them, and they talk them through what to do and what not to do in the stadium.

"That's when the kids start chanting - Jota's song and, strangely, Spongebob Squarepants are the most popular - by the time they arrive at Celtic Park they are very suitably riled up and excited and if you have ever walked that way to the stadium you can usually hear them. The kids then take their seats behind the goals in the Lisbon Lions stand. We go into our section and make lots of noise.

"Just to see the joy on the kids' faces just makes it all the more worthwhile. The sight of seeing kids who are genuine Celtic fans but have never been to a game before and watching them view Celtic Park for the first time is utterly amazing."

While the kids enjoy the most wonderful experience at the stadium, The Kano Foundation stands alone from Celtic FC - although they enjoy a close enough relationship with the club.

"The Kano foundation is not related to the football club, we are a stand-alone charity," Murray adds. "We get children who have never been to football before, who maybe don't have a parent who is interested in football or perhaps don't have the money to take their kids along to the games or live far away. We take children to Celtic Park but we have also gone to games in England, to women's games as well.

"We get children coming across from Ireland, Europe and the south of England. They wouldn't have the chance to get to a game otherwise so that is basically why The Kano Foundations exists: to offer kids the opportunity to attend a football match and have that gameday experience.

"The kids who come are not exclusively Celtic fans either. We have kids who are St Mirren fans, Rangers fans, Motherwell fans... but they come along and they have a great day out.

"We had a case recently whereby a boy was a bonafide Liverpool fan but he is now a fully-fledged Celtic supporter! He attended a Celtic game and then became a fan. He was talking to his teacher about 'we' when he spoke about Celtic. He is firmly in the Celtic camp now."

Currently, there are 4,000 kids on the waiting list hoping to attend a game with the Kano Foundation. It is a staggering backlog but Murray is confident that they will get through it eventually.

Murray said: "There is a waiting list of 4,000 and that is due to the pandemic and cost of living crisis which has just spiked the demand. We have had to close the waiting list temporarily because it was getting out of hand. We are looking to bring those numbers down. People can still put their names forward to receive emails when that list opens back up. The aim is to work on reducing the numbers on the list as quickly as possible.

"We are covering league games just now but we are also looking to go to the early rounds of the Scottish Cup and we do take in women's games but we are looking to branch out into other sports for kids whose interests lie outwith football."

While their current consignment of 188 seats at Paradise does not cater for kids who are in wheelchairs, there are plans afoot to address that in the near future.

Murray said: "Celtic Park is full and there is a huge waiting list for season tickets so it is not that easy to extend the area the Kano Foundation has. We have 188 seats, although we would love 1,000! People get in touch with us who have kids who have disabilities and other issues; we have two seats to use and otherwise liaise with Celtic to try to get that sorted out."

Originally, the Kano Foundation came into existence in 2008 when Martin Kane - from Glasgow but living in Australia - developed Devic’s Syndrome, a rare immunological disorder that meant he was hospitalised for months and needed specialised care.

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Kane was a huge Celtic fan and posted updates about his condition on the Celtic Quick News website. His fellow supporters then came together to raise money to get him home from the hospital and into his house. They massively exceeded expectations in terms of donations and ended up taking kids who had helped raise money to Parkhead, thus giving birth to the Kano Foundation.

Since then, all the money raised to take kids to Glasgow's east end for the experience of a lifetime has been generated through fundraisers or donations.

To pull this all off on a regular basis speaks volumes about the volunteers, organisers and those who donate in other ways but also to their relationship with the club itself, who by all accounts help facilitate the days out where they can.

"People have run marathons for the Kano Foundation," Murray said. "We even had a guy who covered his car in vinyl and drove around France! We also have a Foundation end-of-season dance and we have a bucket collection as well.

"People can donate via the website if they are doing anything charitable and they want to put a portion of it to the Foundation through JustGiving.

"The club itself is very accommodating with the kids. Celtic send over players at big moments for the foundation. The players love meeting the kids - Kyogo Furuhashi is the most popular guy.

"Kids meeting the first-team players is a thrill, the Foundation is creating memories that last forever. It makes your whole week to see the expression on a kid's face when they see Celtic Park for the first time or get to meet one of their idols. It is a magical experience to see that."

Incredibly, the Kano Foundation will reach and surpass a superb landmark during the home game against Kilmarnock on Saturday January 7.

"We will hit the 14,000 mark against Kilmarnock and whoever is the 14,000th kid will get to go on the pitch and meet one of the Celtic first-team players," Murray added. "It was Stephen Welsh when he smashed the 13,000th mark and Jacob from Belfast was the lucky kid who got to speak to Stephen, he was lost for words!"

Tradition vs modernisation. It is an age-old argument but it warms the heart to see that there are some football traditions being upheld.

The Kano Foundation is still giving kids a lift over the turnstiles to this very day - more power to them for that.

You can learn more about the Kano Foundation via its website here. To donate, visit this page while information about volunteering can be found here. To receive an email when the matchday application process reopens, fill in the form on this page. Kano Foundation merchandise can be purchased from Calton Books on London Road, Glasgow and you can keep up to date with the Foundation's activities on Facebook and Twitter too