A new podcast about Heart of Midlothian and Newcastle United is being launched this week by communications professional Anas Hassan to enable him his own platform to keep an audio journal containing his regular reflections about his two beloved football clubs.
The Maroon Magpie will allow Anas The Manace 51 (his nickname and squad number) to constructively express his thoughts about the Jambos and Magpies, covering both the men’s and women’s teams.
There will be a new web address themaroonmagpie.com that will go live for the podcast with plans to include written content and video, as well as the audio itself.
The aspiration is that The Maroon Magpie will sustainably grow into a podcast that will engage an audience from among the fanbase of both clubs in Edinburgh and Newcastle, as well as beyond.
Anas also hopes to be able to invite a diverse range of people to chat with to add to the camaraderie he enjoys supporting his football clubs.
The football enthusiast, who already co-hosts The Men in Maroon Podcast with fellow Jambo Daz Carding and featured as a guest on the SFF Podcast with other fans of Scottish football clubs, also intends to talk from time to time about watching Irish team Galway United and Hanwell Town, a club based at Ealing in London.
Anas has attended more than 50 competitive games in 2023/24 to watch Heart of Midlothian, Newcastle United and Galway United, making it easily the busiest football season he has ever had attending matches.
His new podcast comes at what is set to be a very exciting time with Hearts Women playing in their first ever Scottish Cup final this weekend and Adidas making an exciting return to Newcastle United in the coming weeks.
Anas, who co-owns Heart of Midlothian via the Foundation of Hearts, said: “After what has been an enjoyable 2023/24 season, it’s now time for me to share my feelings constructively about my two beloved football clubs, openly, regularly and sincerely.
“I am very encouraged and feel warm in my heart about people’s wonderful best wishes for me since I first announced The Maroon Magpie last night.
“It has been developing as an idea in the last year, but after plenty of positive experiences, including being on the SFF Podcast that I was privileged to feature in as a guest, now I feel is the right moment for me to have the courage to start getting my new podcast to take off from the runway and fly gently into the sky.
“While I can’t pretend that it will be the perfect podcast from the start, I can absolutely be sure that it will start humbly, develop sustainably and hopefully grow into something amazing that is commended by fellow Jambos, Magpies, football fans elsewhere and beyond.”
Anas reckons the first seed for his upcoming new podcast was subconsciously planted a year ago tomorrow, when Newcastle United officially secured UEFA Champions League qualification at St James’ Park.
He explained: “When Newcastle United drew with Leicester City in the Premier League last May, I found myself witnessing some of the most extraordinary scenes I have ever experienced.
“It was so incredible, that I recorded my own voice note to express my feelings as I was very moved by what I saw when the Toon Army vociferously celebrated what was absolutely a significant and thoroughly deserved achievement.
“It has taken me a year to finally feel strong enough within myself to start making the effort to get The Maroon Magpie off the ground so that I can share my feelings with the rest of the world about my beloved football clubs, especially when special moments like what had happened a year ago took place before my own eyes.
“These are moments you live for and you want to enjoy fully so that you can get to cherish such happy and important memories for the rest of life on this planet.”
Why does it matter to him so much?
Anas answers: “It matters a lot to me as football is camaraderie.
“Heart of Midlothian is my camaraderie. Newcastle United is my camaraderie. Galway United is my camaraderie. Hanwell Town is my camaraderie. Football isn’t just a sport. It’s something that brings me together with fellow human beings and allows me to fulfil my need to be with other people to enjoy the sport that I love.
“Given that I am a communications professional, it only makes sense for me to reach out to other people through The Maroon Magpie, which is a description or nickname that sums me up as perfectly as Anas The Manace.”
Hassan’s 2023/24 campaign has included many highlights in Gorgie and Riccarton in Edinburgh including seeing Steven Naismith’s men securing European football after a successfully making it to third in the Scottish Premiership and Eva Olid’s women securing a second successive fourth place finish in the Scottish Women’s Premier League, as well as Hearts Women getting to their first ever Scottish Cup final at Hampden.
Meanwhile, in the footballing heart of NE1, he has had the chance to enjoy Eddie Howe’s men play in the UEFA Champions League and more recently saw Newcastle United’s U21’s lift the Northumberland Senior Cup.
Hassan also travelled to Luton Town’s stadium Kenilworth Road to see Becky Langley’s Magpies play Hashtag United in the FAWNL Cup final.
The first episode of The Maroon Magpie will be published later this week.
The Maroon Magpie with Anas Hassan 
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