As a Newcastle United fan growing up in South Africa, I was surrounded by Manchester United fans | OneFootball

I was inspired after reading the piece on The Mag by Andre Hendriks a couple of days ago.

If you missed it, Andre is a Newcastle United fan who grew up in South Africa and now lives in New Zealand.

He is going to fulfill a lifelong dream and watch the Magpies live in action in Australia later this month. International Newcastle United supporters – yes, we exist!

My own story has a few similarities with Andre’s in that I too grew up in South Africa, albeit I am a 90s kid compared to him, whose childhood was defined by the 80s.

His friends were all Liverpool supporters. My mates were mostly Manchester United fanboys.

I first saw Liverpool and Manchester United in action in 1993 when they toured South Africa. For an unknown reason, I immediately took a disliking to both of them, but it was actually the 1994 World Cup that got me into football. Imagine the innocent naivety of being led to believe that Sweden and Bulgaria were powerhouses of the world game. I couldn’t understand how Sweden failed to qualify for Euro 96, for example.

When I began to watch the Premier League, it was the 1994/95 season, and I remember liking Newcastle and Blackburn. The former because I liked their black and white stripes and they were an exciting team to watch, and Blackburn because they were the best team that year and my uncle supported them (he was a heavy influence on me). They also had this really good striker called Alan Shearer.

After Euro 96, Shearer signed for Newcastle and it was big news; it was a world record transfer fee after all. Thirteen-year-old me decided there and then that I would stop liking Newcastle and begin supporting them!

Sadly, I only got the last six months of the Kevin Keegan era but I did get that beautiful 5-0 win over Man Yoo!

However, because I came on board relatively late, it was actually Sir Bobby Robson who is most special in my heart when it comes to Newcastle managers. Don’t get me wrong, I love KK, but I only experienced a short period of him being in charge… and best we not talk about the return under Mike Ashley.

My final year in high school was 2001. In South Africa, our school years are a calendar, unlike in the UK, so you can just imagine how special it was to finish high school and then in the week that followed, Newcastle thrashed Arsenal at Highbury and then Leeds at Elland Road, to ensure they were top of the Premier League ay Christmas! Good times.

Like Andre, it took me the longest time to finally see the Magpies live.

You must remember, South Africa is pretty far away from the UK, plus our currency is pretty weak which hardly helps.

I got my chance in 2012 when I was sent to the UK to cover the London Olympic Games as a reporter. I took a few days’ leave after the Games, journeyed up to Tyneside, and took my seat for the opening match of the season – a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

What a wonderful experience!

I’ve managed to take in two World Cups (2010 in South Africa and 2022 in Qatar), and I can tell you, being at St James’ Park was like being at a World Cup game.

I can only imagine how much better it is now as a Newcastle United fan, to go to matches with the Sports Direct stuff no longer plastered all over the famous ground. I hope to visit again one day but in the meantime will continue to fervently cheer the team on from afar.