Association for Magpies old boys

NEWCASTLE United have launched a former players’ association in order to celebrate the career of ex-Magpies and ensure they retain a lasting connection with the club.

All players past and present will be recognised and remembered by the group - with support offered wherever and whenever they may need it, as well as maintaining their relationship with Newcastle.

It will be led by former Magpies Paul Watson, Steve Harper, Derek Bell and Archie Gourlay have helped establish the association and will represent both current and ex-Newcastle players

United managing director Lee Charnley believes it will provide a lasting bridge between the club and its former representatives.

“The Former Players’ Association is a fitting legacy for the club’s 125th-anniversary year,” Charnley told the club’s official website. It will recognise and support every player that has contributed to the history of Newcastle United.

“We are committed to ensuring its success and, through our Foundation, to providing the resources it will need to grow and develop long into the future.”

The Newcastle United Former Players’ Association will be formally announced at the NUFC Foundation’s 125th-anniversary dinner, which takes place at Exhibition Park on Tuesday evening, though an official launch is likely to take place at the end of the season.

Contact will be made to former players in the coming weeks and months by the club and members of the committee to invite them to join, while a database will be established to ensure communication links exist.

“There is a massive desire from the former players to get together and remember the good times and their shared experiences,” ex-Magpie Watson, who played a key role in establishing the association, told the club’s official website.

“This formal link between the club and the former players’ association will mean so much to them. I feel certain that the structure we have developed together will become the blueprint and industry standard for how a football club must look after their players, past, present and future.”

Any former players who would like to be involved are welcomed to make contact with the club ahead of that by emailing mark. hannen@nufc.co.uk.