Newcastle United's new front of shirt sponsor Knox Hydrate has made its presence felt across Tyneside in recent weeks, with co-founder and former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis planning to attend home matches when his fighting schedule allows.
The Magpies wore their new home kit for the first time in a competitive fixture over the weekend, drawing 2-2 with Liverpool at St James' Park. That match also marked the first time the Knox Hydrate logo appeared on the front of Newcastle shirts under a three-year £60million deal.
The sponsorship agreement came shortly after the club's training ground was rebranded as the Knox training centre, following a separate deal for Knox to sponsor the training base.
Visible presence at press conferences and around the city
Knox's presence has been noted by eagle-eyed fans on social media, with head coach Matthias Jaissle drinking a can of Knox during press conferences and ensuring the label is visible to TV cameras. The brand is also beginning to be rolled out across the UK.
Over the last couple of weeks, Knox co-founder Ethan Hughes, CEO John Schaefer and director of global marketing Mark Jacobs have been ingratiating themselves with Tyneside life. The trio attended the Visit Malta Weekender, which rounded off pre-season with Newcastle's men facing Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg, and Newcastle's women taking on Inter Milan.
The Knox chiefs first took in a match at St James' Park in January when the Magpies beat PSV 3-0 in the Champions League. They were also in attendance for the 2-2 draw with Liverpool, rounding off a trip where they spoke to fans in the city's pubs and restaurants, putting £1,000 behind the bar in the Dubliner pub on the Quayside over the weekend.
UFC partnership and future plans
Knox also has a high-profile partnership with the UFC, owing largely to the fact that mixed martial artist and former UFC middleweight world champion Dricus Du Plessis is a co-founder of the company. Chronicle Live understands that when his fighting schedule allows, the South African is planning to attend a number of Newcastle home matches across the three-year deal.
Knox also played a role in the Newcastle United Business Club event in the stadium earlier this week, as well as speaking to reporters ahead of a media game put on at the training ground last week.
After Sela's multi-million pound deal came to an end at the end of last season, and the efforts they made to put on light displays for supporters and sponsor the Stack complex outside the stadium, Knox had a big act to follow. They have made a positive start to following in those footsteps across the last couple of weeks.
