Celtic's opening league game against Dundee will be played on Monday August 3, live on Sky Sports at 7.30pm. The SPFL says the change is tied to events at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome during the closing weekend of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with Police Scotland among the groups involved in the discussions. Celtic said the kick-off was moved down from 8pm to 7.30pm for travelling supporters, particularly those coming from Ireland.
Why the SPFL pushed the game to Monday
Calum Beattie said the 2026 event is smaller than the 2014 Commonwealth Games disruption, but still large enough to affect fixtures. "The event is not on the same scale as 2014 when both Barclays Hampden Park and Celtic Park were venues, so the impact on SPFL fixtures is more limited this time," the SPFL chief operating officer told dailyrecord.co.uk.
The more important point is the date. Beattie also said the closing weekend of the Games coincides with the opening weekend and that there are events scheduled at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. That left Monday August 3 as the solution for Celtic's first league game of the season.
Celtic get a small win on kick-off time
There is some practical logic in the decision, even if it is not the opening-day slot Celtic wanted. The club wanted a weekend flag day feel, but the 7.30pm start at least helps supporters who are travelling, and Celtic made clear that was part of their case.
Form-wise, they should still go into the game comfortably. Celtic have won 9 of their last 10 competitive matches in the supplied sample, and they have won all 5 of their most recent home games. They have also not lost any of the last 5 meetings shown against Dundee, which is why the noise around this fixture is about the schedule, not the football.
The opening-night debate is settled for now. Celtic and Dundee meet on Monday August 3 at 7.30pm, and the rest of the argument is about why that was the only workable slot.
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