Sunderland Association Football Club, are a professional football club based in Sunderland, North East England. They were announced to the world by the local newspaper, The Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette on 27 September 1880 as Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club[1] following a meeting of the Teachers at Rectory Park school in Sunderland on 25 September 1880. The football club changed their name to the current form on 16 October 1880, just 20 days after the September announcement. They were elected into The Football League in the 1890–91 season, becoming the first team to join the league since its inauguration in the 1889–90 season, replacing Stoke F.C.
All figures are based on the maximum potential fee and are correct as at 1 September 2013.
| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2016 | MF |  Didier N'Dong |  FC Lorient | £13.8 million | [2] | |
| 31 August 2010 | FW |  Asamoah Gyan | Rennes | £13 million | [3] | |
| 24 August 2012 | FW | Steven Fletcher | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £12 million | [4] | |
| 29 June 2011 | FW | Connor Wickham | Ipswich Town | £12 million (£8M up front) | [5] | |
| 5 August 2014 | MF | Jack Rodwell | Manchester City | £10 million | [6] | |
| 23 August 2012 | MF | Adam Johnson | Manchester City | £10 million | [7] | |
| 5 August 2009 | FW | Darren Bent | Tottenham Hotspur | £10 million | [8] | |
| 31 August 2015 | FW |  Fabio Borini | Liverpool | £10 million (£8M up front) | [9] | |
| 1 August 2015 | MF | Ricardo Álvarez | Inter Milan | £9 million | [10] | |
| 30 January 2016 | MF |  Wahbi Khazri | Bordeaux | £9 million | [11] | |
| 8 August 2007 | GK | Craig Gordon | Hearts | £9 million (£7M up front) | [12] | |
| 15 July 2015 | MF | Jeremain Lens |  Dynamo Kyiv | £8 million | [13] | |
| 27 August 2013 | DF | Anton Ferdinand | West Ham United | £8 million (£6.75M up front) | [14] | |
| 5 August 2016 | DF | Papy Djilobodji | Chelsea | £8 million | [15] | |
| 30 August 2002 | FW |  Tore André Flo | Rangers | £6.75 million | [16] | |
| 16 July 2013 | MF | Emanuele Giaccherini | Juventus | £6.5 million | [17] | |
| 30 June 2013 | MF |  Jozy Altidore | AZ Alkmaar | £6 million | [18] | |
| 30 June 2011 | MF | Craig Gardner | Birmingham City | £6 million | [19] | |
| 29 August 2007 | FW | Kenwyne Jones | Southampton | £6 million | [20] | |
| August 2009 | FW | Lee Cattermole | Wigan Athletic | £6 million | [21] | |
| 29 January 2011 | FW |  Stéphane Sessègnon | Paris Saint-Germain | £6 million | [22] | |
| 1 September 2008 | DF | George McCartney | West Ham United | £5.5 million (£4.5M up front) | [23] | |
| 16 July 2007 | MF | Kieran Richardson | Manchester United | £5.5 million | [24] | |
| 31 January 2013 | FW | Danny Graham | Swansea City | £5 million | [25] | |
| 30 July 2008 | MF | Steed Malbranque | Tottenham Hotspur | £5 million | [26] | |
| 26 July 2009 | MF |  Lorik Cana | Marseille | £5 million | [27] | |
| 13 July 2007 | FW | Michael Chopra | Cardiff City | £5 million | [28] | |
| 7 July 2011 | DF | John O'Shea | Manchester United | £5 million | [29] |
| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June 2017 | GK | Jordan Pickford | Everton | £30 million (£25M up front) | [30] | |
| 18 January 2011 | FW | Darren Bent | Aston Villa | £24 million (£18M up front) | [31] | |
| 9 June 2011 | MF | Jordan Henderson | Liverpool | £20 million (£16.25M up front) | [32] | |
| 30 January 2017 | DF | Patrick van Aanholt | Crystal Palace F.C. | £14 million (£9M up front) | [33] | |
| 25 June 2013 | GK |  Simon Mignolet | Liverpool | £11.25 million (£9M up front) | [34] | |
| 1 September 2023 | FW | Ross Stewart | Southampton | |||
| 3 August 2015 | FW | Connor Wickham | Crystal Palace F.C. | £9 million (£7M up front) | [35] | |
| 17 July 2018 | MF | Wahbi Khazri | Saint-Étienne | £9 million (£6M up front) | [36] | |
| 12 August 2010 | FW | Kenwyne Jones | Stoke City | £8 million | [37] | |
| 31 August 2013 | FW | Stéphane Sessègnon | West Bromwich Albion | £6.5 million | [38] | |
| 9 July 2012 | FW | Asamoah Gyan | Al-Ain | £6 million (added to £6M loan fee received previously) | [39] | |
| 1 June 2018 | MF | Jeremain Lens |  Beşiktaş | £6 million (including £6M loan fee) | [40] | |
| 30 June 2017 | FW | Fabio Borini | AC Milan | £5.3 million (£1M up front) | [41] | |
| 30 August 2001 | MF | Don Hutchison | West Ham United | £5.25 million | [42] | |
| 8 July 2010 | MF | Lorik Cana | Galatasaray | £5.1 million | [43] | |
| 24 July 2009 | MF | Dean Whitehead | Stoke City | £5 million | [44] | |
| 23 July 1999 | FW | Michael Bridges | Leeds United | £5 million | [45] | |
| 26 June 2018 | DF | Paddy McNair | Middlesbrough | £5 million | [46] |
Sunderland have won a total of six Football League Championships including three in the space of four seasons, along with being runners-up five times. Sunderland have also experienced success in the FA Cup, winning it twice; in 1937 and 1973. They have never won the League Cup but finished as finalists in 1985 and 2014.[47] [48] [49]
See also: List of Sunderland A.F.C. players.
Competitive matches only. Each column contains appearances in the starting eleven, followed by appearances as substitute in brackets.[51]
| width=5% | width=20% | Name | width=12% | Years | width=13% | League | width=13% | FA Cup | width=13% | League Cup | width=13% | Other[52] | width=11% | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1960–1977 | 537 (0) | 41 (0) | 33 (0) | 16 (0) | 627 (0) | |||||||||
| 2 | 1957–1971 | 26 (0) | 23 (0) | 0 (0) | |||||||||||
| 3 | 1890–1904 | 417 (0) | 35 (0) | 0 (0) | 5 (0) | 457 (0) | |||||||||
| 4 | 1951–1963 | 402 (0) | 34 (0) | 11 (0) | 0 (0) | 447 (0) | |||||||||
| 5 | 1984–1995 | 21 (0) | |||||||||||||
| 6 | 1964–1979 | 14 (0) | 21 (0) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | 1983–1996 | 19 (0) | |||||||||||||
| 8 | 1911–1925 | 379 (0) | 32 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 411 (0) | |||||||||
| 9 | 1990–2004 | 2 (0) | |||||||||||||
| 10 |  | 1957–1969 | 26 (0) | 17 (0) | 0 (0) |
Competitive matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.[53]
| width=6% | width=17% | Name | width=12% | Years | width=13% | League | width=13% | FA Cup | width=13% | League Cup | width=13% | Other | width=13% | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1925–50 | 205 (348) | 23 (40) | 0 (0) | 228 (390) | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1911–25 | 209 (379) | 13 (32) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 222 (411) | |||||||||
| 3 | 1925–29 | 156 (166) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 165 (175) | |||||||||
| 4 | 1904–19 | 150 (280) | 9 (35) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 159 (315) | |||||||||
| 5 | 1890-97 | 135 (186) | 25 (19) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 154(215) | |||||||||
See also: List of Sunderland A.F.C. managers.
Attendances at Sunderland's grounds prior to Newcastle Road were rarely recorded. Attendances at Newcastle Road, and in the seasons prior to 1925 at Roker Park were usually approximations.
| Highest | Lowest | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Other | League | Other | ||
| Newcastle Road | c. 24,000 v. Sheffield United, 5 March 1898[70] | c. 23,000 v. Aston Villa, FA Cup, 10 February 1894[71] | c. 2,000 v. Blackburn Rovers, 19 December 1896[72] | c. 1,500 v. Birtley Town in the Durham Challenge Cup, 20 November 1886 | |
| Roker Park | 68,004, v. Newcastle United, 4 March 1950[73] | 75,118 v. Derby County, FA Cup, 8 March 1933 | 3,841 v. Manchester City, 11 April 1934 | c. 1,500 v Darlington in the Durham Senior Cup, 21 October 1931[74] | |
| Stadium of Light | 48,355 v. Liverpool, 13 April 2002[75] | 47,543 v. Manchester United, EFL Cup, 28 November 2000[76] | 22,167 v. Wigan Athletic, 2 December 2003[77] | 3,498 v. Oldham Athletic in the EFL Trophy, 1 December 2021 | |
Below is Sunderland's record in European competitions.[63] They have only appeared once in European competition, during the 1973–74 season where they reached the second round. They qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup after winning the 1973 FA Cup Final over Leeds United.
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home result | Away result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–74 | European Cup Winners' Cup | R1 |  | Vasas Budapest | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| R2 |  | Sporting CP | 2–1 | 0–2 | |||
| width=30% | Competition | width=10% | Played | width=10% | Won | width=10% | Drawn | width=10% | Lost | width=10% | Goals for | width=10% | Goals against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |||||||
| Total | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |||||||
A. : Payment of the transfer fee for Ricardo Alvarez was imposed on Sunderland in 2017 following the loss of a legal dispute with Inter Milan. The total cost of the Alvarez deal, including compensation and court fees is estimated to be close to £20m.[78]
B. : Sunderland were promoted in the 1989–90 season despite being beaten in the 1990 play-off final, Swindon Town originally won the match 1–0 but Sunderland took their place in the First Division after Swindon admitted to making illegal payments.[57]
C. : Sunderland score is given first in each result.
D. : Sunderland qualified for the 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup by winning the 1973 FA Cup.
Footnotes:References: