Newcastle to introduce kit 'unique from any other in club's history' for special cause

Newcastle United are set to introduce a special kit ahead of their Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

Earlier in April, it was reported that the Magpies’ normal shirt sponsor, Sela, would make way for a charity to appear on the front of shirts instead for the match against the North London club.

According to the Daily Mail, talks have been ongoing for several weeks and the charity will be announced closer to match day.

Now, ahead of the match against Spurs on Saturday, it has been announced that Newcastle will introduce a ground-breaking shirt that allows deaf fans to ‘feel’ the noise of St James’ Park for the first time.

The shirt is set to look like a normal replica but it will turn sound into touch using special sensors and motors, known as haptic technology.

According to Ryan Genz, the co-founder of Cute Circuit, the company behind the technology, who said: “When you're wearing the shirt, it's a bit like you're wearing the stadium.

“We have microphones hidden all around St James' that are capturing different parts of the crowd noise.”

Genz added: “It's not just the people near you that you're feeling in the shirt.

“You're feeling people chanting and cheering all over the entire stadium. And you're feeling them in different parts of the shirt.”

Fans who are deaf or experience hearing loss will be wearing the shirts.

Season ticket holder Ryan Gregson said to the BBC: “I'm excited. It will link us to the stadium, to the crowd, the music and the singing.”

Another fan, David Wilson said: “I could feel [the shirt] on my body and I thought: 'Wow, is this what sound feels like?' It was so different. I felt like it was alive.”

Newcastle’s sponsor Sela will launch a new haptic shirt that will help deaf fans experience the atmosphere at the stadium:

‘Using haptic technology, the shirts transform the noise of the stadium into real-time touch sensation’ which will be used for the first time against Spurs… pic.twitter.com/cugBmdRdzP

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 11, 2024

This move has been driven by Sela, whose name will be replaced by hearing loss charity RNID.

RNID's director for inclusion, Teri Devine said: “Deaf people love sport as much as anybody else.

“I’m sure the deaf community will absolutely embrace the haptic shirts and we would love other clubs to pick up on this sort of technology, and other technologies that can do to make the game more accessible for deaf people.”