Newcastle United have announced extensive plans to pay tribute to Kevin Keegan ahead of their Premier League opener against Liverpool on Sunday.
Keegan, the former Newcastle and Liverpool great, died aged 75 on July 20, after disclosing earlier in the year that he had stage-four cancer.
Newcastle initially set up a memorial outside St James’ Park, which led to thousands of tributes being laid in memory of the two-time Ballon d’Or winner, who managed the club twice and also played for them.
Keegan spent six years at Anfield during the 1970s, helping the club win three First Division titles, before joining Hamburg in Germany.
On Sunday, both Newcastle and Liverpool’s players will wear their usual training shirts for the warm up, but they will have ‘Keegan 7’ printed on the back as a mark of respect.
Many of the shirts that were laid outside of St James’ Park have been made into a mosaic that will be laid in the centre-circle before the match gets underway to honour the former England manager.
The club has also invited Jean Keegan, Kevin’s wife, and his family to the match — along with a number of his former players including Alan Shearer, Faustino Asprilla, David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, and other squad members from his spells in charge.
There will be a minute’s applause from both sets of players before kick-off on Sunday, while Keegan is going to be on the front cover of the matchday programme.
In a private ceremony, delegates from Newcastle United and Liverpool are expected to lay wreaths in a memorial garden. This would include Shola Ameobi and Bob Moncur on behalf of the Tyneside club.
Wor Flags — a supporter-led group that creates memorable visual displays through the use of flags, banners and tiffs — will also be paying tribute to Keegan with a takeover on Sunday.
Tributes have been paid outside St James’ Park to Keegan. (Newcastle United FC)
For the memorial outside the stadium, which was visited by thousands of supporters wishing to pay tribute to Keegan, the club worked closely with its Fan Advisory Board and the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust.
As well as being visited by fans, many former players also made the trip to the memorial, including Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Lee Clark.
Alongside the memorial, the club had books of condolences outside for fans to sign, as well as a digital version for the supporters unable to make it to St James’ Park.
Some of the memorabilia laid at the memorial will now be given to Keegan’s family, while the club will keep some back for future tributes.
The flowers that were laid outside the stadium were turned into compost and spread across the club’s pitches.
Newcastle have asked supporters attending Sunday’s match, which kicks off at 4.30pm BST (11.30am ET), to arrive earlier than usual to ensure they can see the many planned tributes.