Local musician Sam Fender’s name could be seen on the back of Newcastle United shirts during the Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool.
It’s a day that Newcastle United fans will never forget. After 70 long years, the Magpies have finally won a domestic trophy with this squad etching themselves into the history books and avenging the defeat at Wembley Stadium in 2023.
Musician and massive Newcastle fan Sam Fender has been a big part of the club’s identity since the takeover in 2021.
Fender dreamed of selling out St James’ Park and finally made that dream come true in 2023, with the North Shields-born singer playing two nights at Newcastle’s home ground.
The 30-year-old’s name will also be etched in history alongside Newcastle because it appeared on the back of the Magpies shirt at Wembley.
The decision left fans questioning the reasoning for his name being added to the backs of the shirts, here is the exact reason why.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Newcastle United via Getty Images
The Carabao Cup final wasn’t the first time that Fender’s name has been on the back of Newcastle’s shirts this season. The Magpies have included his name for the previous two rounds as well.
In December, it was announced that Newcastle would wear special edition shirts for their Carabao Cup tie against Brentford. The shirts from that win were auctioned in aid of community projects as part of a special collaboration with Fender.
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However, the Magpies chose to keep using Fender’s name on their shirts to promote his new album ‘People Watching’. The collaboration also promotes Fender’s 2025 St James’ Park shows, with the singer set to return to the ground in June.
Commenting on the collaboration, Newcastle’s CCO Peter Silverstone told Newcastle’s official website: “Newcastle United and Sam Fender have become symbols of pride for the region and play to global audiences. It’s a great match, and it’s another opportunity to connect with Sam in a creative way which will excite our supporters and benefit the community.
“The anticipation for Sam’s concerts at St. James’ Park continues to build and not only does this allow us to promote his latest album, it gives us another opportunity to offer supporters a piece of Newcastle United history with the auction donations going to support the incredible work that Newcastle United Foundation continues to do across the region.”
Sam Fender changes song lyrics in honour of Dan Burn
Newcastle defender Dan Burn was the hero at Wembley, scoring the club’s first goal at Wembley since 2000.
Burn knew he had scored for Newcastle when he beat Alexis Mac Allister to the header just before half time – the goal was just one of several things the 32-year-old can celebrate in a truly remarkable week.
The Blyth-born star also received an England call-up on Friday having impressed throughout the season. He’ll have a chance to round off a memorable month by making his debut against either Albania or Latvia.
Fender wasn’t able to attend the final due to scheduling conflicts but he was still able to pay tribute to Burn by changing his song lyrics.
While performing the track ‘Little Bit Closer’, Fender sang “What is God?” to which Fender added: “His name’s Dan Burn.”
The hilarious moment was captured and published on backing singer Brooke Bentham’s Instagram story, the audience can be heard laughing and cheering when Fender changes the lyrics.
Burn will now surely hope he’s bagged free tickets to Fender’s St James’ Park concert in June. Although his efforts are bound to be enough to give him the keys to the city.