‘Unsilence the crowd’: Newcastle shirts to enhance experience of deaf fans

Deaf Newcastle supporters will be able to experience a fuller sensory match-day experience at St James’ Park on Saturday thanks to the club’s pioneering use of haptic technology.

Newcastle’s shirt sponsor, Sela, is spearheading a new initiative named “Unsilence the crowd”. It involves the technology being implanted into shirts worn by deaf or hearing-impaired supporters attending the Premier League match against Tottenham.

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Inside the stadium, a series of vibrations transmitted by flashing blue lights embedded in the fabric will transpose the noise into a real-time touch sensation.

Sela, a Saudi Arabian events and sports marketing company, is also donating its front-of-shirt logo and stadium hoardings perimeter advertising space to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

This dictates that Eddie Howe’s team will wear a one-off special kit during a live televised game certain to affect the race for European qualification. The RNID charity supports about 12 million people in the UK who are deaf or have hearing loss or tinnitus.

It has conducted wide-ranging research to demonstrate how haptic technology improves match-day experiences for deaf fans. Newcastle’s specially selected deaf mascots will be among those supporters seizing an opportunity to road test it.

Peter Silverstone, Newcastle’s chief commercial officer, said: “This inspiring campaign is highly innovative and the first of its kind. We believe ‘Unsilence the crowd’ will be truly game-changing for football and expect this campaign will revolutionise the football experience for any fan who is deaf or has hearing loss.”

Sela is to provide haptic technology at all Newcastle home games and hopes other clubs will follow suit.

Ibrahim Mohtaseb, Sela’s senior vice-president, said: “St James’ Park is renowned for its noise and passion. Through this initiative we hope to enable deaf fans and fans with hearing loss to feel a part of this.”

Teri Devine, director for inclusion at RNID, said: “One in five adults in the UK are deaf or have hearing loss. This technology has the potential to have a real and lasting impact on how they experience live sports. We hope this encourages other clubs to raise their game and make sure deaf fans are fully included.”