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Newcastle Falcons have finished bottom in the last three seasons
Adam Lanigan
BBC Sport, North East & Cumbria
Energy drinks giant Red Bull has completed its takeover of English top-flight club Newcastle Falcons.
Newcastle, who were put up for sale towards the end of last year, are the first rugby union club to become part of the Red Bull stable and will now be known as Newcastle Red Bulls.
The Austria-based company already has significant interests in football, motor racing and winter sports.
Newcastle have finished bottom of the Premiership - renamed the Gallagher Prem for the new campaign - in each of the past three seasons, but this deal secures their long-term future.
Steve Diamond will remain the club's director of rugby, with Newcastle set to start the new campaign at home to Saracens on Friday, 26 September.
Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull CEO corporate projects and investments, said their aim was to "empower the club to reach its full competitive potential".
Lifeline for Newcastle
Semore Kurdi, who had been majority owner since 2011, put the Kingston Park club up for sale towards the end of last year.
In a tough financial climate post-Covid, Newcastle have been the whipping boys of the Premiership in recent seasons.
They have finished bottom three years in a row and have managed just two wins in the past two seasons, notably going without a victory from March 2023 to October last year.
The club has operated considerably below the Premiership's salary cap and in recent months saw homegrown players and England internationals Adam Radwan and captain Callum Chick move on to Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints respectively to further their careers, further weakening their playing resources.
Against this backdrop, Diamond has been at pains to explain the restrictions that he has been working under
But Diamond has always stressed that the club would not go the way of Wasps, Worcester and London Irish, who all went to the wall in an eight-month period between October 2022 and June 2023.
Now with this new investment and fresh approach, Newcastle will hope they can become competitive again in the 10-team league.
