Sports
E-sports Campus set to open near Stadium of Light

Video game tournament organizer BEA (British E-sports Association) has announced it will open a multi-million pound education facility for Esports next to the Stadium of light.
Situated adjacently to the stadium, the new National Esports performance Campus (NEPC) will continue to evolve Sunderland’s Reputation as a future focused city.
The term Esports – meaning “electronic sports” constitutes organized competitive gaming where teams or solo players face online in front of large audiences to win normally large cash prizes and trophies.
Already a growing phenomenon, with one in three people playing videogames around the world, the new campus will help to explode esports popularity around the UK. Even the Olympics and Commonwealth games are considering the inclusion of Esports for future events.
The NEPC will provide state of the art equipment and training to establish itself as a national hub for the Esports industry which will aim to attract the best talent from around the world
Educational and couching courses will be available for players as well as other roles in the industry. NEPC will also have an arena space, performance room, streaming booths and dedicated Esports classroom.
The campus is set to open this summer and will capitalize on the success of BEA’s student champs which see’s nearly 400 school and college teams competing against each other as well as being a training base for the Great Britain esports team.
Executive officer at BEA, Chester King said “The UK is Europe’s second biggest video game market and ranked sixth globally – this speaks to the potential of esports which will capitalize on gaming’s popularity, with talented competitors emerging and a growing audience keen to spectate and enjoy esports as a leisure activity. This is a market that we know will explode in the UK and we want to support its growth.”
“Sunderland is a hugely ambitious and future-focused city and that aligns very much to BEA and esports, which has vast growth potential and ties into Sunderland’s strengths in gaming, digital and sport
The campus will be an inspirational site, a place for players and coaches to work, learn and develop. This is a much-needed facility and through my team’s experiences we understand its importance
Sunderland’s eco system will have a huge boost with an initial 20 jobs being available at the facility while tens of thousands of spectators will visit the city to utilize the world class technology at hand.
Are you looking forward to visiting?
Featured
Newcastle United to Reveal New Shirt Sponsor?

footballinsider247 are reporting that the main shirt sponsor slot for Newcastle United is expected to be filled by airline SAUDI, who sponsored Newcastle’s mid-season tour of their owners’ homeland in December.
They state ‘This site revealed in February that there is frustration at St James’ Park that they have inherited a kit deal with Castore worth just £5m per year with no break clause and several seasons left to run.’
Newcastle’s recently appointed CEO Darren Eales has already previously expressed that the club at looking at all commercial opportunities and fans on Twitter were keen to mock up their expectation for the new shirts, see below and let us know your thoughts and also see our below video on how NUFC can increase commercial avenues..
Eddie Howe’s team are currently in a strong position to achieve a European slot which would increase revenue into the club allowing more spend whilst staying within Financial Fair Play which is something Howe has spoken about on several occasions as they look to stay within. If the club do reach a European slot it should help significantly with recruitment in the summer by making it a more attractive proposition to any incoming targets.
What do you think of the kits – let us know on our facebook page and join in on the conversation.
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Credit: NUFC kit concept – twitter
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Featured
Amazon filming Newcastle United for “All or Nothing” style documentary

Amazon Prime are currently filming behind-the-scenes footage at Newcastle United for a new documentary.
The docu-series will provide an insight into the club and its efforts to secure a top-four finish and a piece of silverware in the 2022-23 season.
Reports today revealed that camera crews have been filming a four-part documentary for their All or Nothing series. Sky Sports’ Keith Downie confirmed that the series will cover the club and the new owners as they attempt to qualify for the Champions League and win a trophy.
The All or Nothing series has previously documented other Premier League Clubs including Manchester City, Arsenal, and Spurs as well as the Brazilian national team, Juventus, and the All Blacks of rugby.
Something I mentioned last night on @tfNUFC: Camera crews have been filming behind-the-scenes at Newcastle United for a four-part documentary to be shown on Amazon.
The series will chart the club & its owners as they attempt to win a trophy & qualify for The Champ League #NUFC— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) February 8, 2023
Newcastle face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final on February 26 at Wembley.
🗓️ 26.02.23@ManUtd 🆚 @NUFC #EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/V23zWPDoxP
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) February 1, 2023
The Magpies have featured three times in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
Most recently in the 2003-04 season as they reached the third qualifying round, eventually losing on penalties to Serbian side FK Partizan.
The season before the Toon finished third in the 2002-03 Champions League group stages, winning twice against Bayer Leverkusen and drawing with Inter Milan 2-2 at the San Siro. The lineup that night; Given, Solano, O’Brien, Dyer, Shearer (C), Bellamy, Speed, Griffin, Hughes, Dabizas and Viana.
The series is expected to air later this year and will be available on Amazon Prime.
Based on previous seasons, you can expect exclusive access to training sessions, team meetings and match days, giving fans an in-depth look at what goes on behind the scenes on a day-to-day basis at Newcastle United.
It is set to be an incredible storyline and one that should provide fans with some real insight into what it takes to compete at the top level of professional football.
What do you think Newcastle fans?
Does this excite you or do you stand more with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp who once said the cameras could be intrusive to the dressing room when he turned down the offer from Amazon In 2018?
Join the conversation on our Facebook page…
Sports
Newcastle target rejects Everton move following £45m bid.

Everton have made a £40million bid with £5m in add-ons to sign Connor Gallagher from Chelsea.
This comes after Newcastle completed the signing of Anthony Gordon, the club’s second most expensive transfer behind Alexander Isak.
Everton received an initial fee of £40m plus add-ons that could increase the deal to £45m.
EXCL: Everton have submitted a bid to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea. It’s £40m proposal plus £5m add ons. 🚨🔵 #EFC
Chelsea will make a decision soon as there are also other clubs interested in Gallagher — and player has to decide his future too. pic.twitter.com/xZeuGqaR01
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 30, 2023
The Toffees currently sit 19th in the Premier League and are looking to reinvest the money from the Gordon deal to sign much-needed players under newly appointed manager Sean Dyche.
But, multiple sources have reported today that Gallagher is not actively pushing for a move and has no intention of going to Goodison Park. However, with Chelsea having met the record-breaking €120m release clause for World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez, Gallagher may be forced to leave the club if the transfer is complete.
🚨| Conor Gallagher is not interested in a move to Everton 🔵 pic.twitter.com/0CYzXjBoBd
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 30, 2023
This leaves Newcastle an option as the player would prefer a move to a top-six club.
This morning, Eddie Howe said, “We’ll see what we can do to try & bring a player in. There’s no guarantees. In terms of permanent signings, it will be very difficult. We’ll look at a potential loan. But it’s got to be the right player & not one for the sake of it”.
Due to financial fair play, the only way Newcastle could sign the player is through a loan, with an obligation to buy the player for at least £45m, the same price they paid for Anthony Gordon.
Gallagher has been playing regular Premier League football over the last two seasons. Since returning to his parent club Chelsea, the 22-year-old has been linked with a move away to numerous Premier League clubs.
Last season he was named Crystal Palace’s Player of the Season by their fans. He also won the Player of the Month award twice, Goal of the Month once, and was awarded the Young Player of Year at the 2022 London Football Awards.
In the same season, he made 36 appearances scoring eight goals and registering three assists that earned Palace a 12th-place finish, one point behind Newcastle.
Have Your Say!
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Does he start?
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