Newcastle are set to make Kevin Keegan the first person to be posthumously awarded the city's Freedom of the City. Councillors will be asked to approve the award at a special meeting on 4 November, after the honour was due to be agreed earlier this year but was not formally approved before Kevin died in July aged 75.
The civic honour and the delay
The proposal is straightforward in one sense and unusual in another. The Honorary Freedom of Newcastle is the city's highest civic honour, and the plan now is to give it to a figure who already meant a great deal to the club and the city.
Kevin's family said he always shared his love for Newcastle United, Geordies and the city, while David Hopkinson said he would “always be, quite simply, one of the most important, influential and beloved figures in the history of Newcastle United”. Colin Ferguson called the posthumous honour “a fitting tribute to everything he gave to our city”.
Keegan's place in the city
The tributes after his death made the case in public long before the council paper did. Colin Ferguson said: “You could see from the enormous amount of tributes left outside St James' Park what he meant to the city and the footballing world.”
Keegan's link with Newcastle runs well beyond sentiment. He scored 48 goals in 78 games after joining the club in 1982, then returned to Tyneside as manager in 1992 and led the club up to the Premier League. He later managed Fulham, Manchester City and England before a second spell in charge at St James' Park in 2008.
If councillors approve the award on 4 November, Keegan will join other Newcastle sporting legends already honoured at the Civic Centre, with his name inscribed in the wall of the Banqueting Hall.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
