Newcastle United fans have been questioning why the club hasn’t signed a partner to sponsor the training ground ever since the PIF took over.
For years now, clubs have been partnering with companies to sponsor their training ground and even their training wear in a bid to boost revenues.
Given Newcastle is still running foul of UEFA’s oppressive financial rules despite another record-breaking year, it never made sense to fans why the club would leave this money on the table.
Finally, though, the club has announced a new partnership with South African sports drinks company KNOX.
The deal will see the Benton training ground renamed to The KNOX from July onwards as part of a three-year deal worth £6 million a year, according to The Athletic.
KNOX will also have their name on the sleeve of Newcastle’s training gear from next year as the club looks for a lucrative front-of-shirt sponsor to join them.
The three-year arrangement should bridge the gap before Newcastle hopefully moves to a new state-of-the-art training facility, which is expected to be built near Woolsington, just outside of the city.
We have signed a transformative multi-year partnership with KNOX Hydration, the world’s fastest-growing hydration brand.
Effective from 1 July 2026, our Training Centre at Darsley Park will be officially renamed The KNOX. In an historic first for the club, the partnership also… pic.twitter.com/mAKGwF0v9y
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) April 2, 2026
Newcastle’s official site revealed that KNOX will be working closely with the club. We’ll soon be seeing the lads going for a KNOX break mid-match.
“The first-of-its-kind partnership represents a significant step forward in Newcastle United’s commercial strategy, as well as integrating KNOX Hydration’s high-performance nutrition expertise across all levels of the club, providing players with elite hydration products designed to support performance and recovery.”
Crucially, KNOX has no affiliation with PIF, which creates a bit of a safety net for the club should the lawmakers decide to try and clamp down on Associated Party Transactions again.
This is huge news off the back of this week’s financial reports and a big step in the right direction for the club.
It’s things like this that add a bit of credence to David Hopkinson’s words. Where so many people have come into the club and said the right things, they’ve so often failed to back them up. Hopkinson has made some bold claims, and we are still sceptical of many of them, but this is a good first step.