Newcastle United may have struck gold as £143m trio turn heads in Tokyo after summer deal agreed

While their 4-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds and 2-0 defeat to Yokohama F. Marinos in the 2024 J-League International Series hold some significance, the visit to the Far East was so much more than that. An Adidas third-kit launch, supporter gatherings, Q&A sessions and a surprise Sandro Tonali appearance saw the club’s engagement reach new heights in a largely un-tapped Asian market heading into the new season.

After the post-season trip to Australia back in May saw the club subject to criticism surrounding player welfare and generally disrespecting the A-League by playing an Under-21s side in the second match - there was real heart and warmth to proceedings this time around in Tokyo.

As division and turmoil clouds over England, football fans from all four corners of the world united through the power of football and Newcastle United in Tokyo. There was something genuinely touching about the trip and how football brings people together.

This was no small part down to the friendliness and hospitality of Tokyo and the Japanese people, particularly those who support Newcastle United.

Every fan had their own story to tell. Many Newcastle fans support the club because it’s where they were born or have family ties. Japanese fans obviously don’t have that privilege - or curse - depending on which way you look at it!

Newcastle icon Alan Shearer’s goalscoring exploits and the club’s previous visit to Japan in 1996 inspired a fair few of the older Japanese fans to start following the club. But it was the one-of-a-kind reasons that really captured the imagination and epitomised the bizarre world of Newcastle United in Tokyo.

One local started supporting Newcastle after Albert Luque’s ultimately unsuccessful move from Deportivo La Coruna in 2005 while another failed transfer in Yoshinori Muto obviously inspired some others to start following the club. Even though Muto has since left Newcastle, the fans who started following the club because of him have remained.

I spoke to one fan, Ucha, who gave possibly the best reason I’ve ever heard for deciding to support the club. He said: “About 10 years ago, I watched a game against Hull City. The game was so crazy and Alan Pardew has a headbutt! That was the game I watched first and by the end, I’d already fallen in love with this team.

“I love the supporters, they are the best thing in the world. I really, love the team - Newcastle is my life!”

Pardew’s headbutt on David Meyler was labelled as one of Newcastle’s most disgraceful moments of the Premier League era as it saw the former Magpies boss fined £100,000 and handed a lengthy touchline ban. But one silver lining to come from it was that Newcastle gained at least one supporter on the other side of the world.

One big takeaway from the pre-season trip to Tokyo was a further realisation that no one is born a Newcastle fan as such. Rather they are bitten by a bug that turns them black and white. For most that will be because of family connections and having the club shoved in their face from a very young age.

St James’ Park’s city-centre location and the RVI’s maternity ward being adjacent certainly help with that too. But events that may seem insignificant to people in Newcastle can clearly quite easily ‘bite’ someone on the other side of the world.

That effect can snowball and grow steadily faster with trips such as this one to Japan only accelerating the process. In the globalised footballing paradigm influenced hugely by commercial growth, it is becoming increasingly significant.

The Magpies agreed a deal with Adidas starting this summer. And the image of the new Newcastle United third kit alongside kits of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal at the Adidas Store in Shinjuku was a sight to behold. But Newcastle are still so different to those clubs who have already established themselves across the world.

And takeover or not, no one is supporting Newcastle for the so-called ‘glory’ after all!

Newcastle’s ability to comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules, be competitive in the transfer market and, in turn, progress on the pitch all hinge on the club’s commercial growth. And that commercial growth is fuelled by supporters and engagement from across the world.

Future sponsorship deals and commercial opportunities will come from the club being recognised as a global brand. It’s clearly not quite there yet, with £143m trio Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Alexander Isak able to stroll down to one of the busiest places in Tokyo, the Shibuya Crossing, in full Newcastle third kits without too many people batting an eyelid initially.

But after a couple of shots promoting the new Adidas kit, heads gradually started to turn. It’s hard to say whether anyone was ‘bitten by the bug’ then and there - but if an Alan Pardew headbutt can do it, anything can!

It was evident the club were taking this trip very seriously as they looked to strike gold in the most populous city in the world with a huge contingency of club staff making the journey. Unlike the opportunistic trip to Melbourne at the end of last season, we saw the very best of Newcastle United in Tokyo - the performance against Yokohama aside.