The president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation says they want to help Newcastle United become the most popular club in the country.
Saudi Arabia were beaten by Costa Rica in a friendly at St James' Park on the weekend.
Yasser Al Misehal told talkSPORT: "We were given the opportunity to come to Newcastle.
"We got a nice invitation letter at the beginning of the year from the CEO of the club [Darren Eales] through the British Embassy in Riyadh to start the co-operation and maybe some programmes to help, particularly, our women's national team.
"Our technical team met with Newcastle and they explored the opportunities. It's a very good location for us and for the players.
"Having the PIF as an independent authority owning the biggest shares of the club is something very positive for both sides. One of the objectives is to promote the fan base of Newcastle in Saudi Arabia, especially at this stage. A lot of other English clubs maybe have a larger fan base in Saudi so having the Saudi national team playing at St James' Park is a very useful tool."
