TWENTY CLUBSSUNDERLAND
Pre-season

How the warm-ups are going

The friendly results so far, before the league gets going. It steps aside once the real games begin on 21 August.

The season ahead · 2026/27

Sunderland start life as an established top-flight club, with Europe back on Wearside.

Sunderland finished seventh on 54 points under Régis Le Bris last season, and they go into 2026/27 balancing their first European campaign since 1973/74 with the week-to-week of the Premier League. It has been a profit-driven summer, headlined by the sale of Eliezer Mayenda.

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Opening daySat 22 Aug · 15:00 BST
IPSIpswich
v
SUNSunderland
Portman RoadNot televised (3pm) · talkSPORT
Last season · 2025/26

How 2025/26 finished

Sunderland's first Premier League season back ended in the top half and in Europe, a return few outside Wearside saw coming.

7thFinal position
54Points
14–12–12Won · Drawn · Lost
42–48Scored · Conceded

Promoted through the 2025 Championship play-offs, Sunderland sealed seventh with a final-day win over Chelsea. That result carried them into the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League, their first European football in more than fifty years. The 2026/27 league table starts level for all twenty clubs, so every “this season” number below is still zero until the opening weekend.

Happening now

The summer window on Wearside

The confirmed comings and goings of Sunderland's 2026 window. Every line links out to the club's official channel so you can read it in full.

The window was still open in early August, so this list will keep moving. For anything unconfirmed, treat the club's own site as the last word at safc.com.

Around the hub

Find your way in

Jump straight to the parts of the Sunderland hub you came for.

Watch & listen

Where the game is shown on TV or carried on the radio in the UK. The exact channel and station are confirmed for each fixture nearer the date, so the broadcast schedule is the place to check your game.

Match centre

Follow the match live

The next game, or the one in progress, in full. Both line-ups and shapes on the pitch, a live commentary feed as it happens, and the complete stats once the whistle goes. Confirmed line-ups usually land about an hour before kick-off.

Matchday journey

Follow the match, build-up to full time

The best of YouTube for this club at every stage of the day, from the build-up and the watchalongs through to the reaction after the whistle.

Before kick-off

Build-up, team news and the manager’s word

During the match

Watch it alongside other fans

After the whistle

Highlights, press conferences and the analysis
Team news

Who is available

Current injuries and suspensions from the live team-news feed. It fills in as the season gets going, and it is always worth a final check with the club before kick-off.

Matchday weather

Conditions at the ground

The current forecast at the stadium, so you know what to expect on the day. It refreshes on its own.

Called it

Predict the next one

Call the scoreline before kick-off and the game scores it against the real result: five points for the exact score, two for the right result. It saves on this device, no sign-up. Predict the whole gameweek →

Live match

The first whistle of the season

Sunderland open their second season back in the Premier League away at Ipswich Town. This is the module for that match. It stays honest until kickoff, so everything below is blank for now and fills in once the game is under way.

IPSIpswich
15:00
Opening day · Sat 22 Aug
SUNSunderland
Possession

The numbers fill in once the whistle goes.

Portman Road Not televised in the UK Sat 22 Aug, 15:00 BST
Status: not started. Team news, lineups and the live stats stay empty here until the match kicks off on Saturday 22 August.
Follow it live

Where to keep up on the day

When there is no live picture, these are the places that carry the match as it happens. Each one opens in its own tab.

Club coverageOfficial

Sunderland matchday centre

The club's own matchday hub runs live updates, confirmed team news and post-match reaction straight from the Stadium of Light setup.

SUNsafc.comLive club updates
Open the club site
Live textFree

BBC Sport live commentary

BBC Sport runs a free minute-by-minute live text feed for Premier League matches, which is handy when the 3pm blackout means there is no live broadcast to watch.

Open BBC Sport
SocialUpdates

The official X account

For lineups an hour before kickoff, live goal updates and full-time confirmation, the club posts through its verified X account throughout the match.

Follow @SunderlandAFC
Fixtures & results

The season, every competition

The full 2026/27 schedule across the Premier League, every cup and European tie, plus pre-season friendlies. Scores fill in as games are played, and any broadcaster still to be set is marked TBC. Tap any game for the full match centre.

League news and transfers

The latest news and reaction

Fresh headlines and fan reaction from BBC Sport, the Guardian and the club's own subreddit, newest at the top. Every item opens on its source.

Team news

Nothing to report until the whistle nears

It is pre-season, the 2026/27 campaign has not kicked off, and there is no honest team news to give you yet. Confirmed lineups and any fitness or suspension calls land about an hour before kickoff, and this is where they will appear once they do.

Holding
No confirmed team news yet.Nothing has been played this season, so there are no injuries, suspensions or lineups to list, and we will not guess at any.
Matchweek 1
Ipswich Town v SunderlandThe confirmed starting eleven is expected around 14:00 BST on Saturday 22 August, roughly an hour before the 15:00 kickoff at Portman Road. It will be posted here.
Where it comes from
Straight from the clubSunderland publish the confirmed lineup on their own channels first. safc.com and @SunderlandAFC are the primary sources.
The beat writers
Context before kickoffPhil Smith at the Sunderland Echo tends to have the probable eleven and any late fitness doubts ahead of the announcement.
Reminder
Check back near kickoff.Anything shown here before then would be speculation, so we leave it blank on purpose until the real news is confirmed.
Straight from the source

Where to get confirmed team news

When the team sheet drops, it comes from here first. These are the accounts that confirm it rather than guess at it.

By the numbers

The season in numbers

Every chart here comes from the same feed behind our live scores: goals by minute, home and away, the shapes they set up in, the full squad’s numbers and the head-to-head record. This season fills in live from the opening weekend; last season is settled.

Pre-season

How the warm-ups are going

The friendly results so far, before the league gets going. It steps aside for the live table and stats the moment the season kicks off on 21 August.

THIS SEASON

The 2026/27 season

The 2026/27 Premier League season has not kicked off yet, so every figure here is zero for now. The live table, form and match charts all start filling in from the opening weekend.

0PlayedNo matches yet
0PointsSeason not started
0Won
0Drawn
0Lost
0Goals for
0Goals against
0Clean sheets
Nothing has been played this season. These cards, the live league table and the form charts update automatically once the first whistle goes.
RECENT SEASONS

Recent seasons

A quick honest look at the climb back up. Sunderland dropped into League One, the third tier, in 2018 and only returned to the Premier League for 2025/26. Where a season was played below the top two divisions it is clearly marked.

SeasonDivisionFinishedPointsOutcome
2025/26Premier League7th54Finished 7th on their return to the top flight
2024/25Championship4th76Promoted to the Premier League through the playoffs
2023/24Championship16th56A mid-table Championship season
2022/23Championship6th69Reached the playoffs, lost in the semi-finals
2021/22League One third tier5th84Promoted to the Championship through the playoffs
2020/21League One third tier4th77Reached the playoffs, lost in the semi-finals
Points shown are the regular-season totals. Promotions in 2021/22 and 2024/25 both came through the playoffs rather than automatic spots.
THE RECORD BOOKS

The record books

Founded in 1879, Sunderland are one of English football's oldest clubs, with six top-flight league titles and two FA Cups. These are the records that are well documented and still stand.

228Record goalscorerBobby Gurney, the club's all-time top scorer, 1925 to 1950
627Most appearancesJim Montgomery, 1960 to 1977
9-1Record league winv Newcastle United, December 1908
11-1Record win, all competitionsv Fairfield in the FA Cup, 1895
75,118Record home attendancev Derby County at Roker Park, March 1933
£32mRecord fee receivedJobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund, 2025
£30mRecord fee paidHabib Diarra from Strasbourg, 2025
6Top-flight league titlesLast won in 1936
2FA CupsWon in 1937 and 1973
FULL NUMBERS

Where the full numbers live

We keep this page to facts that are solid and well established. For the complete match-by-match and career records, these official and reputable sources go far deeper.

Honours

The trophy cabinet

Sunderland's major honours are headed by six top-flight titles and two FA Cups, all of them well recorded in the club's history. Below them sit the second-tier titles and the recent promotions that tell the story of the climb back. Sunderland have not yet won a European trophy, though they return to continental football in the 2026/27 Europa League.

6 First Division titles 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913 and 1936
2 FA Cups 1937 against Preston, 1973 against Leeds
5 Second-tier titles 1976, 1996, 1999, 2005 and 2007
2022 League One play-off winners Beat Wycombe 2-0 at Wembley
2025 Championship play-off winners Beat Sheffield United 2-1, back in the Premier League
2026/27 Back in Europe First continental football since 1973/74
Fan channels

Fan channels and watchalongs

Sunderland's fan-media scene is strong, and its heart is in podcasts and fanzines as much as in big watchalong channels on YouTube. Below are the club's own official media and the best known independent voices, which are run by supporters, so their opinions are their own rather than the club's. Handles and channel pages do change over time, so where we are not certain of an exact link we point you to a search that lands on the real thing rather than guess a URL.

Channels worth following

The official club channel, plus the fan channels and watchalongs worth a look.

Official media

Sunderland AFC

The club's own channels carry verified team news, press conferences, training footage and behind the scenes content, and they are the one voice here that speaks for Sunderland. The safest way to reach the official YouTube and video hub is from the club website.

Official media via safc.com
Fan media

Roker Report

A long-running independent Sunderland community that pairs its writing with the Roker Rapport podcast, one of the most followed fan shows on Wearside, with reaction and debate across the week. It is not affiliated with the club. A search brings up its current channel and episodes.

Watch on YouTube
Fan media

A Love Supreme and Wise Men Say

A Love Supreme is one of the oldest football fanzines in England, published by Sunderland supporters since the late 1980s, and Wise Men Say is a well established Sunderland fan podcast. Both are independent of the club, and a search is the reliable way to reach their current audio and video.

Watch on YouTube

Podcasts worth a listen

Start with the Sunderland fan pods, then the best of the league-wide shows.

Club

Roker Rapport

Roker Rapport is a fan-run podcast that follows the club through the season.

Listen
League-wide

The Rest Is Football

Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards on the week's football, relaxed and sharp.

Listen
League-wide

The Athletic FC Podcast

Daily analysis of the biggest stories, straight from the writers who cover them.

Listen
League-wide

Football Weekly

The Guardian's long-running show, with Max Rushden and the pod squad.

Listen
Follow the conversation

Where Sunderland fans talk

The community and the accounts worth keeping open through the season. Each opens in a new tab.

Reddit

r/safc

The Sunderland subreddit: a match thread for every game, plus the news and the daily back-and-forth.

Open on Reddit
Forum

Ready To Go

Ready To Go is the main independent Sunderland forum, run by supporters for the day-to-day debate away from the club's own channels.

Open the forum
X · official

@SunderlandAFC

The club's own account, for confirmed team news, line-ups and the goals as they go in.

Follow on X
X · transfers

Fabrizio Romano

The transfer news that tends to break first, with the Sunderland deals as they close.

Follow on X
X · transfers

David Ornstein

The Athletic's reporter, trusted for the stories before they land.

Follow on X
More ways to follow

Where to watch, listen and meet up. These all link out to other sites, so they sit apart from everything above.

Where to watch

Following Sunderland on TV and streaming

On the radio

Sunderland on the radio

Meet up

Where Sunderland fans gather

Home games

Matchday at Stadium of Light

Everything for a home game: getting a ticket, the ground itself, getting there and parking, and where to eat and drink around it. For away days, the travel planner is further down.

Tickets

Getting a ticket at the Stadium of Light

Sunderland carry one of the biggest home followings in the country, and demand is high after the return to the Premier League, so many seats go to season-card holders and members before anything reaches general sale. Availability and prices vary from game to game and change through the season, and we do not sell tickets or list prices here. Always buy through the club or an official channel, and be wary of unofficial resale.

General sale

Match tickets

For any tickets that reach general sale, availability can be limited and often moves quickly once members have had their window. The official tickets page is where to see what is on sale, join any waiting list and read the current terms.

Official tickets page
Membership

Season cards and membership

A season card or club membership is the usual way in for regular supporters, giving priority in the queue ahead of any general release. The tickets pages set out the current options and what each one includes.

Membership options
Hospitality

Matchday hospitality

Official hospitality packages offer premium seating with food and drink included, sold directly by the club. Prices and what is included vary by fixture and lounge, so the official pages are the place to see the current options.

Hospitality at the Stadium of Light
Official resale

Ticket resale

Where the club runs an official resale or exchange, it lets season-card holders list seats they cannot use so other supporters can buy them safely, and it is the only resale route the club endorses. You reach it through the official tickets pages, where the current terms are set out.

Find official resale
Getting there

Getting to the ground and parking

The Stadium of Light sits just north of the River Wear near Sunderland city centre and is very well served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, which the club recommends on a matchday. Driving and parking are a different matter, as the streets and car parks around the ground are tightly restricted on match days.

By Metro and rail

Nearest stations

The stadium has its own Metro stop, Stadium of Light, on the Tyne and Wear Metro Green line, right beside the ground, with St Peter's the next stop along and also within an easy walk. Sunderland's main rail and Metro interchange in the city centre is a short journey away, which helps spread the crowds after the final whistle.

Plan a journey with Nexus Metro
By car and parking

Driving and parking

Matchday parking around the Stadium of Light is very limited and the surrounding streets carry event-day restrictions, so parking close to the ground is not realistic for most visitors. If you must drive, book an official or pre-booked space well in advance, but the Metro is by far the easier option.

Book your journey
Trains

Book train tickets

Advance singles and returns to the ground on Trainline, usually cheaper the earlier you book.

Book
Times

Check train times

Live times, platforms and any disruption on the day through National Rail.

Check
Parking

Pre-book parking

Reserve a space near Stadium of Light on JustPark, the safest bet with matchday restrictions in force.

Pre-book
Transit

Public transport route

Door-to-door directions to Stadium of Light by tram, bus and train, on the map.

Public
Around the ground

Food, drink and a look inside

Where to eat and drink before a game near Stadium of Light, and how to get a look inside on a non-matchday.

Matchday

Pubs & food near the ground

The bars, pubs and places to eat around Stadium of Light on a matchday, on the map so you can see what is closest.

Open the map
Do the tour

Stadium tour

Most matchweeks aside, Sunderland run tours of the ground and the museum. Book through the official tour listings.

Find tour tickets
Away days

Following Sunderland on the road

Every upcoming away game with the destination and the match date, plus a starting point for the hotel, trains, coach or flights. Hotel links open Booking.com set to the city and match-night dates. Always buy the away ticket itself through the club so you are in the away end.

Away tickets

Away allocation & tickets

Away tickets go through Sunderland to registered members, so buy through the club to be in the away end. Sign up early for the popular ones.

Away
Coaches

Official supporters' coaches

Many away games have official club or supporters'-club coach travel from the ground, often the easiest way there and back.

Official
The club shop

The official Sunderland store

Shirts, training wear and the rest of the official range are sold through the Sunderland store, online and in the ground. Designs and prices change through the season, so the store is the place to see what is available now.

2026/27 kits

This season's shirts

The new home, away and third kits. Tap through for the current designs, sizes and the option to add a name and number.

Home

The 2026/27 home shirt

Red and white stripes, a 1937 FA Cup tribute.

View in store
Away

The 2026/27 away shirt

Pink, the Elvis Presley collaboration.

View in store
Third

The 2026/27 third shirt

Royal blue with a retro crest. New for 2026/27.

View in store
In the store

What else you'll find

Training

Training & travel wear

The kit the players train in, plus the travel range and the lifestyle collection.

View in store
Retro

Retro & classic shirts

Reissues of the shirts from the club's history, for when the current one is not the one you want.

View in store
Accessories

Gifts & accessories

Scarves, mugs, home kit and the smaller bits that make good presents or a matchday extra.

View in store
Kids

Junior & baby

The full kit and clothing range sized for younger supporters, from baby grows up.

View in store

Links open the official club store. Kit designs and prices are shown there and change through the season.