Sunderland Association Football Club
Sunderland Association Football Club is one of England’s most historic and deeply supported football clubs, based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Universally nicknamed "The Black Cats," the team competes in the Football League and plays its home matches at the Stadium of Light, an imposing venue with a capacity of over 48,000 built on the site of a former coal mine.
Founded in 1879 as Sunderland and District Teachers' A.F.C. before turning professional, the club became a dominant power in early English football. Dressed in their classic red-and-white vertical striped shirts, Sunderland won five of their six English league championships before World War I, famously dubbed "The Team of All the Talents" by William McGregor, the founder of the Football League.
One of the proudest moments in the club’s modern history arrived in 1973, when Second Division Sunderland produced a legendary upset by defeating Leeds United in the FA Cup Final—a match famous for Ian Porterfield's goal and Jimmy Montgomery's extraordinary double save. Built on a rich industrial heritage, Sunderland remains a vital symbol of community pride across the North East.
Sunderland contests one of British football's most fierce and passionate regional rivalries with Tyneside neighbors Newcastle United, a heated battle known as the Tyne-Wear Derby.
Major Honours
| Competition |
Titles |
Winning Years |
| English First Division / Premier League |
6 |
1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, 1936 |
| FA Cup |
2 |
1937, 1973 (Runners-up: 1913, 1992) |
| FA Charity Shield |
1 |
1936 |
| English Second Division / Championship (Tier 2) |
5 |
1975–76, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2006–07 |
| EFL Trophy |
1 |
2021 (Runners-up: 2019) |
