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Newcastle United news: Saudi Arabia trip is purely for football reasons, says Howe

Newcastle United have confirmed they will embark on a warm weather training camp in Saudi Arabia

Newcastle were subject to a controversial takeover this season by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium, and the club are set to travel to their new owner's country for a training camp.

Eddie Howe confirmed on Friday morning that Newcastle will indeed head to Saudi Arabia for a warm weather training camp next week.

The Magpies will first play against Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, before jetting off to the Middle East.

Amanda Staveley's Saudi Arabian-backed consortium completed the takeover of the club last year, but concerns were immediately raised regarding the owner's controversial history.

Debates around the ethicality of the move and the potential issues with human rights have since clouded the club, but Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has stated the plans are purely "a football decision".
Speaking on Friday, Howe said, "It's a football decision. We're doing it for the benefit of the players, the group, in our fight to stay in the division, and that's my only thought.
"The facilities and everything around the trip are going to be first-class. We will train and we will train hard and we will train in preparation for our next game, so that's always going to be my only focus."
Howe's comments follow accusations of "sportswashing" - the act of using a sport/club to improve the reputation of an organisation, group or nation.
Further questions directed towards Howe focused on the chairman of the takeover, Mohammed Bin Salman.

Given that the controversy is still raging on regarding Newcastle's takeover, the trip runs the risk of distracting Howe from his role as manager, but the 44-year-old insisted he'd be happy to meet the chairman, and that he remains focused on the job at hand.

"There'll be no distraction from my side. As I said, it's about the training and making sure that the players are focused on our next game.
"We're just doing it in a different environment to bring the group closer together."

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