Councillors voted to give Eddie Howe the Freedom of Newcastle for guiding the Magpies to victory in the Carabao Cup
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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe(Image: Getty Images)
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has been given the city’s highest civic honour. Councillors voted on Wednesday afternoon to award the Magpies boss the Freedom of Newcastle.
It comes after he guided NUFC to a historic victory in the Carabao Cup final earlier this year, securing the club’s first domestic trophy in 70 years. The honorary freedom of the city is bestowed on eminent individuals or groups who have made a major contribution to life on Tyneside and is a title also held by sporting legends including Alan Shearer, Jackie Milburn, and Sir Bobby Robson.
The ex-Bournemouth manager, who arrived at St James’ Park in 2021, was not present at the Civic Centre for Wednesday’s meeting but Newcastle City Council is planning to arrange a special presentation for him at a later date. City council leader Karen Kilgour, who nominated the 47-year-old for the honour after March’s Wembley triumph, said Howe would “forever be a hero to Newcastle United supporters”.
The Labour councillor and St James’ Park season ticket holder added: “That special day at Wembley gifted Geordies something they hadn’t seen in 70 years – domestic trophy success. For a city that lives and breathes sport with a football club around which so many lives revolve, the wait to see black and white shirts lift a trophy at the home of football had long felt it would go on forever.
“Since day one, Eddie brought hope, belief and ambition back to the club and its fans around the world, myself included. What it meant was clear to see from the celebrations around London and outside St James’ Park on March 16, and was projected to the world during the unforgettable parade through our city which brought hundreds and thousands of happy fans together to celebrate with their cup-winning heroes.
“More than being the man who brought silverware back to Tyneside, Eddie is a fantastic ambassador for our city. He is passionate yet calm, inspiring and polite, and handles himself with grace in the face of both success and defeat. Newcastle United always has been, and always will be, a major part of life in our city. Under Eddie’s leadership, the magic of what the club is all about is back and here to stay. We will now work with the club to arrange a celebration to present Eddie with his thoroughly-deserved award.”
Newcastle’s season ended last weekend with a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League, capping off a memorable campaign by securing Champions League football for 2025/26. Howe also took the Magpies back into European football’s elite in his first full season in charge, having guided the club away from the threat of relegation following his appointment shortly after the takeover led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Messages of congratulations to Eddie Howe were read out at Wednesday's council meeting from the likes of former Newcastle goalkeeper Shaka Hislop and the family of former club chairman Freddy Shepherd, who have both been honoured with the Freedom of Newcastle previously, as well as other Magpies fans. The status is purely ceremonial and involves recipients being presented with a scroll and having their name carved into the sandstone wall of the Civic Centre’s Banqueting Hall.
It is not the same as being a hereditary Freeman of Newcastle, a centuries-old group whose members must swear an oath to defend the city and have traditionally had special rights and duties – including the right to graze cattle on the Town Moor.