Newcastle United's aims here in Saudi Arabia are far from just football-related as the club look to build strong links in the Middle East.
A 100-strong party from United includes the playing and coaching staff, but members from departments across the board with the club's chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone, chief executive officer Darren Eales and sports lawyer John Devine all present. That list also includes co-owners Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben.
The team are meeting with companies across the Middle East during their stay as they look to push the brand hard. One such deal clinched on the trip already was a partnership with pioneering telecommunications provider stc who are now the official tour digital partner of Newcastle. Silverstone said: "Our ambition is to grow our supporter base in Saudi Arabia; a country whose young population includes a large, passionate and highly engaged football community.
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"We are delighted to welcome stc to our growing family of partners and have them on board as our second strategic partner for the club's visit to Saudi Arabia this December."
Newcastle United work with Cairo-based company to grow brand awareness on Twitter - and smash early milestone
Part of the brand awareness project on this trip has been to set up a Twitter account in Arabic for fans in the Middle East. Set up only on Sunday, the new Twitter handle @newcastle_arabi has moved beyond the 32,000 follower mark in days with an initial 25,000 target expected.
Newcastle are working with Kijamii - based in Egypt - with the company already having AS Roma, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Netflix and Pepsi on their client portfolio list.
Magpies to host fan event tomorrow night in Riyadh
A reminder to fans in Saudi Arabia that Newcastle players will meet fans at an event in Riyadh on Wednesday night. The event takes place at the Hyatt Regency.
In it CEO Darren Eales will be on hand to answer questions to fans present on their tour. United are also expected to have Shola Ameobi on the bill too with the striker acting as an ambassador on the trip.
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