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| Full name | Sunderland Association Football Club | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Black Cats | |||
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| Owner | Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (64%) Juan Sartori (36%) | |||
| Chairman | Kyril Louis-Dreyfus | |||
| Manager | Robin Nicholls (Academy Manager) Graeme Murty (U21 Lead Coach) John Hewitson (U18 Lead Coach) | |||
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Sunderland A.F.C. Academy is the collective name for the youth development squads of Sunderland Association Football Club, primarily the U18 and U21 teams. Sunderland have an 'Elite' Category 1 football academy based on the Elite Player Performance Plan and their teams are members of the Professional Development League.[1]
Sunderland's academy is based at the Academy of Light in Cleadon, South Tyneside. Sunderland academy teams play at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground, in Hetton-le-Hole (U21s)[2] or at the Academy of Light (U18s). At least three U21 games per season are played at Stadium of Light as per the rules of the Professional Development League.[3]
Numerous notable professional players have graduated from Sunderland's youth system over the years. In recent seasons, Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford have both represented England at senior international level.[4] and Lynden Gooch has been capped for the United States.[5]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Eppleton CW Guide". Sunderland Association Football Club. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ "Bottom of the league: Manchester United's failing youth team". The Times. 3 March 2018. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Hunter, James (3 July 2018). "England's Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford are poster-boys for Sunderland's academy". nechronicle. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ Taylor, Louise (17 November 2016). "Sunderland's Lynden Gooch: 'People say bad things about the north-east but I don't know why'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2018.