The City of Sunderland has united and given the gift of football this Christmas!
What originated as a single supporter getting in touch with Stewart Donald on Twitter quickly escalated, and within hours hundreds of fans got in touch about donating tickets for the Boxing Day clash with Bradford City
The chairman, Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori then signed up to the fan-led initiative and donated 50 tickets each before Jack Ross, non-playing staff and players also joined in.
Since then, In Business members have also donated tickets to take the total over 1,300 to ensure no one misses the big match on Boxing Day.
Speaking about the players involvement, Chris Maguire, said: “The support we’ve received this season has been incredible. The dedication the fans have shown to turn up each match in such big numbers is amazing and we really appreciate it.
“This gift of football idea is what this time of year is all about, it’s important we help each other out in life whenever we can and hopefully, we can get the stadium bouncing on Boxing Day.”
Bryan King, managing director at King Brothers and member of SAFC In Business, added: “I saw it on Twitter and it just struck a chord. Christmas in this area can be a tough time for families and we already do a lot with Veterans in Crisis Sunderland - a good friend of mine set the charity up – and it was just something that agreed with us.
“Off the pitch there is a lot of good things going on. The dialogue has been really good, and I think everything is looking really positive around the club and the city now.”
The donated tickets will go to the Foundation of Light, who work with tens of thousands of young people and families across the north east.
Along with the help of Sunderland’s players, tickets have been handed out to individuals and groups who they work closely with, who may not otherwise have been able to attend the game.
And speaking about the initiative, Phil King, commercial director at the Foundation of Light, said: “It’s an amazing idea and the fact it has been fan led has probably made it a little bit more real. Generally, we work across South Tyneside, Sunderland and Durham and the vast majority of people we work with, whether they are youngsters or adults, are predominately Sunderland fans.
“We work on a programme called improving futures, which sees us go into communities with families and schools and helps find programmes or courses to help improve their lives.
“That journey from going into the school, engaging with them and completing a programme with us and then getting a ticket for the Boxing Day fixture is massive.”
GET INVOLVED
The closing date for supporters to get involved with this initiative is 5pm on Wednesday 19 December.
Follow the link below and choose the ‘FoL Donation’ option. You will then be prompted to enter the number of tickets you wish to buy and the price (chose donation 1 for £22 tickets and donation 2 for £25 tickets).
Once you have completed the transaction your donated tickets will be given directly to Foundation of Light.