But they won promotion to the Championship in 2022 and climbed into the Premier League via the play-offs in May 2025, finishing a surprise seventh in their first season back in the big time.
The northeast club have a storied history — only six clubs have more top-flight English titles — but the sixth and last of those came way back in 1936.
Sunderland were a byword for glamour in the 1950s, dubbed the “Bank of England club” due to their heavy spending.
But they had relatively little to show for their outlay and last won a major trophy in 1973, when they beat Leeds in the FA Cup final.
Despite their prolonged stagnation, the club, about 12 miles (19 kilometres) from bitter rivals Newcastle, remained one of the best supported in England, attracting crowds of 30,000-plus even in League One.
Now the 49,000-capacity Stadium of Light, opened in 1997, is staging Premier League football again and preparing to host continental football for the first time.
The European journey is rich reward for Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, son of the late Marseille owner and billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who bought a stake in the club in 2021 and has since increased his shareholding.
The appointment of Regis Le Bris as head coach in June 2024 proved a masterstroke — the Frenchman took the club back into the Premier League at the first attempt and they defied the odds last season.
Sunderland, led by inspirational captain Granit Xhaka, are now gearing up to face AZ Alkmaar after a patchy start to their season.
“It’s a symbol for the club. We are getting better, the momentum is big and for our fans it is going be crazy to be fair,” Le Bris told TNT Sports.
“We are really proud to be in this position. We earned this opportunity last season with a great season. We had tough moments but at the end we stayed consistent.”
– AFP
Photo: REUTERS/Scott Heppell
