Newcastle United Opens Supporter Survey on Crest Change; Fan Group Unhappy With Wording

English Premier League club Newcastle United is contemplating changing its crest, and it’s turning to its supporters for input.

NUFC published an article to its website on Friday, May 9, broaching the subject of a crest change, which can be a sensitive one among supporters, and laying out its reasons for embarking on the process.

“As our club grows on the global stage, the symbol that represents us needs to be able to keep pace. It needs to show up clearly and confidently across everything — from kits to screens to merchandise,” the article reads.

“This isn’t a decision we take lightly. We love our crest. It’s iconic and has stood us through unforgettable triumphs and testing times. But it was created in a different era. Its intricate design doesn’t always translate well in today’s digital world. And it’s difficult to reproduce it clearly and consistently.

“As football and the world changes, so too must the symbol that unites us.”

Previous versions of the Newcastle United crest. (Courtesy Newcastle United)

NUFC concedes that, “based on what we’ve heard, updates to the current club crest should be minimal and therefore Refine & Revive is our recommended approach.”

To that end, the club is inviting season ticket holders and members to participate in an independently-run survey. Links to the survey have been emailed out, and the deadline to provide input is Friday, May 16. They’ve also scheduled a fan consultation workshop for Wednesday, May 14, to be held in person at their home stadium, St. James’ Park, and online.

But a group representing Newcastle supporters isn’t happy with how the survey is worded. According to ESPN, the Newcastle United Supporters Trust sent an open letter to club CEO Darren Eales saying that it’s “framed in an incredibly leading manner throughout and it is hard to see how any meaningful fan engagement or reliable conclusions can be drawn from it.”

The Trust also points out that FA rules state that a club has to be able to prove a majority of supporters are in favour of changing their crest before such a change is made.

“As it stands, the survey is not able to provide information on whether the majority of our supporters are open to the idea of making a material change. To comply with FA rules, we strongly urge you as a club to provide a new survey, written in a neutral tone and to include an option for supporters to indicate that they do not wish to pursue any change at all.”

NUFC’s current crest was introduced in 1988. It includes elements from the City of Newcastle upon Tyne’s coat of arms, like a castle, two sea horses, and a lion holding a pennant.

Crest changes have been a thorny subject for clubs across Europe in recent years. Fellow Premier League club Aston Villa only kept a new crest that fans voted on for one season before ditching it and bringing in a new crest that supporters felt they weren’t properly consulted on. And in Spain, Atlético Madrid supporters hated their revamped crest so much that 88.68% of them voted to revert to the previous version in June 2023.