Six Newcastle United stars narrowly miss out on new Champions League initiative as UEFA make statement
The 2026/27 Champions League campaign starts again this week.
Newcastle United reached the last-16 of the Champions League last season but failed to qualify for Europe again as they finished 12th in the Premier League.
It comes as UEFA have announced a new initiative for players making their debuts in the competition proper. Players who make their Premier League debuts are rewarded with a commemorative debut ball, but there was no such reward for those debuting in the Champions League until this season.
The competition’s league phase gets underway on Tuesday, where many players making their debuts will wear a unique jersey. Instead of the standard Champions League ‘starball’ patch on their sleeve, players making their debut in the competition will have the word ‘debut’ incorporated into the logo.
It’s part of a marketing collaboration with trading card company Topps.
A UEFA statement read: “The Debut Patch is a new initiative introduced by UEFA and UC3, in collaboration with Topps, to recognise and celebrate players making their bow in the UEFA Champions League. It puts the player at the centre of a defining career milestone and creates a story that begins on the pitch and continues with fans beyond the final whistle.
“The patch will only be valid when players make their on-pitch debut, which includes entering a match as a substitute. It will be incorporated into the Champions League Starball badge worn on a player's jersey sleeve.
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“Following a player's debut, the distinctive blue debut element of the patch is removed from the match-worn shirt and then authenticated; the patch is identified, securely packaged and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity before being transferred to Topps.
“Topps then integrates the patch into a one-of-one trading card featured in a UEFA Champions League Product that will be signed by the player, transforming the player's competition debut into a unique piece of football memorabilia.”
Last season, Newcastle United had six players make their Champions League debuts who have ultimately just missed out on the new initiative after the club failed to qualify for the competition this campaign.
Yoane Wissa, Nick Woltemade, William Osula and Alex Murphy all made their Champions League debuts at Newcastle last season, starting matches in the competition. Leo Shahar and Sean Neave also made their Champions League debuts coming off the bench.