The Club

Gateshead FC

Gateshead International Stadium,

Neilson Road

Gateshead

NE10 0EF

The current incarnation of Gateshead FC was founded in 1977. After a few years in the Northern Premier League, in 1982/83 they topped the league with  a then record points tally of 100, scoring 114 goals as they did so. They were promoted to the Alliance Premier League (effectively the predecessor of today’s National League), but only managed to stay at this level for two seasons before being relegated back to the sixth tier. In subsequent years, they bounced about between the fifth, sixth and seventh tiers of English football. Their current spell in the fifth tier dates back to 2022/23. In that year, the team also reached the FA Trophy final, played at Wembley Stadium, when they were defeated by FC Halifax Town.  However, one year later, they went one step further, to be crowned FA Trophy Champions, beating Solihull Moors on penalties.  The history of the Gateshead team goes back much further than 1977. In 1930, a team in South Shields moved along the Tyne Estuary and renamed itself after its new home in Gateshead. This Gateshead team assumed the place of South Shields in Division Three (North); they were relegated to Division Four upon its foundation in 1958, and were not re-elected to the Football League two years later. The club continued playing at lower levels until it closed down in 1973. It should be noted that the present-day South Shields team. which Rovers met in the FA Cup in 2022/23 and who are currently flying high in the National League North, also trace their origins to the previous South Shields team. To add the confusion, another team called South Shields, then playing in the Northern Premier League, moved up-river in the 1970s and renamed themselves Gateshead Utd. This team folded in 1977 and was replaced in the same league by the new Gateshead FC.

The club have experienced some challenges in recent years. In 2018/19, despite finishing in a healthy ninth place in the National League, they were relegated to the National League North in association with financial irregularities. In 2023/24, when Gateshead finished sixth in the National League, they were excluded from the promotion play-offs because the terms of their lease over the Gateshead International Stadium did not meet EFL requirements. Having spent almost all of the 2024/25 season within the play-off places (and the stadium lease amended to allow them to challenge for promotion), they fell away towards the end of the season, finishing eighth, just outside that coveted zone.

Travel to Gateshead

Gateshead is located on the south bank of the River Tyne, opposite the much larger settlement of Newcastle. It is a journey of about 270 miles from Nailsworth, taking around five hours by road.

By Supporters Club Coach – this is by far the cheapest and easiest way to travel. For information about Away Travel, including precise details of pick-up locations – look here. For this match, the departure times are The New Lawn – 7:00am, Sainsbury’s Dudbridge – 7:15am,Stonehouse Brunel Way – 7:30am.  

The prices for coach tickets to this match are as follows (Supporters’ Club members get a £3 discount): Adults £44, U-16 £25, U-11 £12

To book a seat with the supporter’s club discount, please call 0333 123 1889  on Monday, Thursday, or Friday at 11am to 2pm.  Please try to book early.

By Car –

Ground Post Code – NE10 0EF

Travel to Gateshead by car will take around four-and-a-half to five hours  (about 270 miles from Nailsworth).

From the South (Quickest route)
At the end of the A1(M) Junction 65, take the A194(M) towards South Shields. At the end of the A194(M) take the A184 towards Gateshead. The stadium is situated three miles further along this road on the right-hand side.

From the South (Taking in the Angel of the North)
Leave the A1 at the A167 turn off and take the A167 towards Gateshead South. You will pass the Angel of the North on your left-hand side. On reaching the large roundabout at the junction with the A184, turn right onto the A184 itself. The stadium is further down the A184 on the left-hand side.

Car Parking

There are three car parks at the stadium which are free to use.

By Train / Metro

The stadium has its own Metro stop called Gateshead Stadium, which is a five-minute walk away. This stop is around a ten-minute journey away from Newcastle Central railway station, which is also the nearest mainline station.

Leaving Stroud at 7.58am, it’s possible to arrive at Newcastle Central station at 1.37pm, changing at Gloucester and Birmingham New Street. It’s not possible to return to Stroud by train on the same day, although a train leaving Newcastle Central at 5.58pm (with a change at Doncaster or York) will get you to Cheltenham Spa at 9.50pm or Gloucester at 10.00pm.

A full-price return ticket between Stroud and Newcastle costs some £195, but use of split ticketing and/or advance purchase tickets mean this figure can be substantially reduced (by one-half or more). A metro day ticket that will allow you to make a return journey between Newcastle Central and Gateshead Stadium costs £4.60 for adults.

The Ground

The current Gateshead team have played at the Gateshead International Stadium since their formation. The stadium is primarily an athletics stadium. It has a bowl-like effect, has a football pitch surrounded by an international standard athletics track.

Away fans are located in the large East Stand on one side of the stadium. This stand has a capacity of 4,000, more than ample for FGR and indeed most away followings in the National League. The stand is uncovered, having lost its previous roof in a storm, and fans have an unobstructed view of the playing action. The East Stand is well set back from the pitch, with eight lanes of the athletics track to contend with, before reaching the playing area. Plus, with the home fans located in the opposite Main Stand, the atmosphere can be limited.

TICKET PRICES

Adult (22-64): £22

Concession (65+, Blue Light, Serving & Veteran Armed Forces): £17

Young Adult (17-21): £12

Youth (14-16): £7

Tickets can be purchased here.

The Gaffer

Alun Armstrongwas appointed manager in June 2025, having coached the Gateshead Under-19 team for the previous season. He replaced Carl Magnay, who had resigned after Gateshead narrowly missed out on qualifying for the National League promotion play-offs, and shortly afterwards was appointed Assistant Manager at nearby South Shields. However, Gateshead’s underwhelming performance in the first part of the 2025/26 season found Armstrong removed as gaffer – but appointed as Head of Football Development instead.

Back in the managerial position since 2 January 2026 is Rob Elliot. In his previous spell managing the club in 2022/23, he had taken Gateshead to the brink of promotion from the National League (only for the club to be excluded from the playoffs because of their lease on the ground not meeting EFL requirements) as well as to victory in the FA Trophy. In 2024 Elliot moved on to Crawley Town, but remained in post for only six-and-a-half months. On Elliot’s return to Gateshead, the club were bottom of the National League – clearly a lot of faith has been placed in his ability to work wonders with them, as he had in his previous period in charge. As a player, Elliot was a goalkeeper, spending seven years at Charlton Athletic, and nine years at Newcastle Utd (although he was their first choice keeper for only one season). He also played on loan from Charlton for Accrington Stanley.

Gateshead Mascot – Rooney the Goat.

What Are They Thinking

Gateshead Fans Forum – Login Required | Heed Army (boards.net)

How are they doing?

Disappointingly. The aftermath of last season – when the club had targeted promotion, but ended up falling out of the play-off slots at the very end of the season to a resurgent Southend Utd – lingers. In this disappointment, the club lost its manager, its team captain Greg Olley (who, before departing for York City, made no secret of his frustrations with how the club was being run) and its leading goalscorer, Luke Hannant. The challenge of rebuilding the team – and restoring broken spirits -has proved difficult. At the end of 2025 Gateshead sat in last place in the league table, and with the worst goal difference, having conceded more goals than any other team.  The season started painfully, with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Southend team that had replaced them in the play-offs the previous season. 4-0 defeats by Rochdale and York City added to the pain, while a 5-0 thrashing by a Woking team that themselves have had a difficult season only made matters worse. High points have been rather harder to find.

Recent Clashes With Rovers

This season’s home encounter with Gateshead, played in Nailsworth in November 2025, was a convincing 3-1 victory for Rovers, all three of the FGR goals – from Jili Buyabu, Temi Babalolo and Jayden Clarke coming in the first half. Although Gateshead scored a consolation goal deep in injury time after the second half proper, Rovers’ lead was not seriously threatened at any point.

Rovers’ most recent visit to the Gateshead International Stadium in September 2024 ended up as a 2-0 FGR victory for draw, with goals coming from Liam Sercombe and Christian Doidge.

Places to Visit in Gateshead