Newcastle United go a deeper shade of Saudi green with away kit

Newcastle United have officially unveiled their new away kit for the upcoming 2023-24 season. The kit made by Castore is predominantly green, combined with black logos, and also features a black and white trim at the cuffs and collar.

The club badge is well placed on the left chest giving it an elegant look. White and green shorts complete the kit that is set to be worn away from home in all competitions.

The kits will feature the new shirt sponsor Sela with Noon adorning the left sleeve.

This could very well be the last shirt from Castore with rumors claiming that fans are expecting Adidas to return to St. James’ Park.

The Magpies have also unveiled the new goalkeeper kit that features a light blue shade.

Newcastle United kits show clear Saudi influence

The upcoming season will be the first of many for new sponsor Sela, who had earlier signed a multi-year deal with the Tyneside outfit. The Middle East events company will also work with the club to provide a new fan zone for fans going to St James’ Park.

What is becoming remarkably clear about the shirt is the clear Saudi influence on the design. Newcastle United have never claimed green as one of their club colors, but have adopted it in the past two years. This is coincidentally the two full years the Saudi state has owned the club.

After the deal was struck, CEO Darren Eales was quick to praise Sela.

“We team up at an exciting time in the history of both organizations given both share an ambitious vision to expand their brands globally.”

The new shirt is likely to bring a lot of criticism. Many have felt that the club is being directly controlled by Saudi Arabia and the new green kit, the same colors as of the Gulf Nation will raise a few eyebrows.

Who actually owns the club?

The club is owned on paper by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) since the takeover in October 2021. However, the PIF’s ownership of the Magpies drew widespread attention to Saudi’s human rights problems. Several have deemed the purchase of the club as sports washing. It’s worth noting that all funding for the PIF comes from the Saudi government/state apparatus.

It will be interesting to see the developments surrounding the new kit. This is especially key as it also resembles the Saudi national football team’s kit from the 2022 World Cup.

This particular design was on show as the Gulf side shocked eventual Champions Argentina 2-1 in their opening game.

Photo credit: IMAGO / PA Images