‘Nothing short of amazing’ - Newcastle United co-owners’ behind the scenes move revealed

Shola Ameobi has hailed the impact of Newcastle United co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi following the official opening of the Foundation’s NUCASTLE home.

The former Magpies striker, as a trustee of the Newcastle United Foundation, was one of the driving forces behind the £8million construction, which is situated on the old Murray House site close to St James’ Park.

The state-of-art sports facility, which has a rooftop 4G pitch, opened its doors to the public on Wednesday afternoon and aims to welcome at least 100,000 visitors in its first 12 months through a number of community programmes.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe and captain Jamaal Lascelles were present at the unveiling, proving there is a strong connection between the Foundation and the football club.

Staveley and Ghodoussi were unable to attend, though Ameobi revealed how striking up a relationship with the Foundation was one of the first moves they made when they acquired the club in October 2021.

“They’ve been down, they’ve seen the facilities,” Ameobi said.

“One of the first things they did when they came in was have meetings with Steve Beharall (Head of the Foundation) just to understand what the foundation was and what it did. They wanted to make sure the club had that connection.

“Every time I’ve met with Amanda (Staveley) and Mehrdad (Ghodoussi), they’ve been nothing short of amazing in terms of what they want to do now and their plans moving forward.

“It only bodes well for us as a club and the foundation with the vision they have. I’m sure they’ll talk about it more as we move forward.

“They’ve been fantastic throughout this whole process.”

Ameobi, who was a player and then worked behind the scenes during Mike Ashley’s disastrous 14-year ownership, described the previous vision as “murky”.

Under the new ownership however, the 40-year-old - who made just under 400 appearances for Newcastle and is now the club’s loan manager - is excited about the future.

Ameobi added: “As an ex-sportsman now, you want to know that you’re moving forward and you’re building something.

“For me, it would have been very frustrating not really knowing where we’re going as a club and what the vision was. It was very murky.

“To have owners who want to have a clear vision and are doing their due diligence as we speak in terms of where the club is at, but really wanting to benchmark against other top Premier League clubs.

“That’s where you want to be, that’s where the fans want to be. Me, as a fan as well, it’s really exciting. I’m hopeful for the future.”