Growing up in Nottingham, goalkeeper Jordan Belshaw spent countless weekends in the towering Meadow Lane stand, cheering the Magpies. He witnessed Notts County lift the Anglo‑Italian Cup at Wembley in 1995 and watch the side fall in the 1996 third‑tier play‑off final. In 2023 he celebrated the club’s claim as the world’s oldest Football League team after a penalty shoot‑out win over Chesterfield.

Three years earlier Belshaw kept goal for Harrogate Town as they edged Notts County in a behind‑closed‑doors Wembley final during Covid. The loss hurt, but a January move back to Nottingham opened the door to his dream. On promotion day his three‑year‑old daughter Isla will be blowing out candles, and he hopes a pink cake and a win will coincide.

Since signing, Belshaw has spoken openly about representing a club his family has supported for generations, recalling childhood mascot duties and a junior stint before a spell at Duke University in the United States. Now, wearing the Notts County shirt at Wembley, he aims to keep a clean sheet and cement the Magpies’ return to the Football League.