Newcastle United sponsor to be replaced v Tottenham in 'groundbreaking' move

Newcastle United’s front-of-shirt sponsor will be replaced for the club’s upcoming home game against Tottenham Hotspur in a ‘groundbreaking’ world first.

Sela will launch haptic shirts that will for the first time enable deaf fans to feel the atmosphere inside St James’ Park- donating its front-of-shirt logo and pitchside advertising rights to deaf and hearing loss charity RNID.

The haptic technology allows the new shirts to transform the noise of the stadium into real-time touch sensation. Fans and the match day mascots- who are deaf or have hearing loss- will be wearing the shirts on Saturday.

United’s front-of-shirt sponsor Sela has committed to providing this technology at all future home games and hopes the initiative will be replicated to improve accessibility in football.

Sela is also set to donate its place in the centre of the Magpies’ shirts to RNID, the national charity which supports people across the UK with hearing loss.

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Peter Silverstone, Chief Commercial Officer at Newcastle United, said: “When Sela shared the idea and technology behind the haptic shirts, we supported the concept immediately, knowing it would make such an impact to our supporters who are deaf or have hearing loss.

“Newcastle United’s partnership with Sela continues to provide spectacular experiences for our growing global fanbase. We are also proud that, together, we can shine a light on the positive work of Newcastle United Foundation as well as the City of Newcastle, itself. This inspiring campaign is highly innovative and the first-of-its-kind. “Unsilence the Crowd” fills everybody associated with this initiative with deep pride, from all Newcastle United, Newcastle United Foundation, Sela and RNID, along with all stakeholders who have helped make this possible.

“We believe that “Unsilence the Crowd” will be truly game-changing for football and expect this campaign will revolutionise the football experience for any fan who is deaf or has hearing loss, regardless of which team they support.”