Five reasons why YOU should buy a Sunderland Ladies season card!

A Sunderland AFC Ladies season ticket will get you access to all the club’s FA Women’s Championship matches at Eppleton CW and the Stadium of Light this season, as well as the Men’s Under 23 games too!

You will have to wait until Monday now - but match tickets can still be bought online for the Blackburn game this weekend from the club website.

Still, there are loads of fantastic reasons to get yourself, your friends, and your family a pass to watch this season’s home action live so you can cheer on Keira Ramshaw and the girls as they take on this new and exciting challenge, but Katie Hume has chosen her top 5...

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They’re great value!

At £50 for Adults and £25 for Under 16s and Over 65s, the season ticket is one of the cheapest in the FA Women’s Championship.

With all the games being played on a Sunday, it’s also very unlikely that the games will clash with the men's team.

Photo by Chris Fryatt

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They play in a very competitive league!

This tier two league is being billed as one of the most competitive in English women’s football history, and if the opening weekend is anything to go by, anything can happen this season.

There are a mix of semi-professional sides and professional sides - some clubs like ours who have Premier League infrastructures, and others that are operating independently of any men’s teams.

Sunderland have been in this division before, winning its inaugural season in 2014, losing only one game along the way. This year will be very different, with only London City and our local rivals and last year’s runners-up Durham remaining in the division since 2014.

However, there are still some familiar faces - Sunderland have faced two-time WSL champions Liverpool and newly relegated Bristol City during their stint in the top-flight. This weekend’s opponents Blackburn were promoted from the National League in the 2018/19 season, in which Sunderland were runners-up.

Watford were promoted alongside Sunderland from the National League. Although they were split with the North/South divide, we faced them in the 2020 FA Cup Fourth Round, coming out 2-0 winners.

Sunderland played in a pre-season friendly against Sheffield in the preseason losing 2-0, with former Sunderland player Kasia Lipka getting on the scoresheet.

We played Coventry on the opening weekend, winning 1-0 over the newly professional side, which was seen as a shock result by some media outlets.

We have no recent history against Crystal Palace, Charlton, and Lewes, so we venture into unknown territory when we face them.

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Sunderland have future England stars in their ranks!

Do you ever wish you had a time machine to watch reigning Best Fifa Women’s Player Lucy Bronze put in a POTM performance in the 2009 FA Cup Final, or see Beth Mead’s hat-trick against 2015 Champions Chelsea, or even watch Lioness legends Jill Scott and Steph Houghton at the start of their career?

Well sadly time machines don’t exist, but this season ticket could give you a chance to watch a host of future Lioness stars.

The team is filled with so many talented young players, like Neve Herron and Jessica Brown, who have already represented England at youth levels starting on a regular basis. Mel Copeland is a strong believer in giving youth a chance and with Sunderland’s track record it shouldn’t be long before we produce another world-class talent.

Photo by Chris Fryatt

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You can watch international footballers!

While we already have a senior international player in our squad with Maltese midfielder Maria Farrugia tearing up the league, our competitors are filled with top international talent.

Our game against Lewes on 26th September features Nigerian forward Ini-Abasi Umptong. The derby against Durham on 10th October will have their new signing Albanian midfielder Elizabeta Ejupi playing alongside a former Black Cat, Northern Ireland’s Sarah Robson.

The most international team are former WSL Champions Liverpool, who are home to players such as Belgium forward Yana Daniels, Republic of Ireland defenders Megan Campbell and Niam Fahey, Northern Ireland’s Rachael Furness - a former Sunderland favourite - as well as New Zealand olympian Meikayla Moore.

When we face Watford (27th March 2022) we’ll be facing the Welsh national team’s all-time record goalscorer, Helen Ward.

Photo by Graham Glendinning/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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You can become part of a growing family!

The Sunderland family is a big part of the ideology of Sunderland Ladies. The Sunderland family isn’t just about the players on the pitch, it’s inclusive of the fans as well.

Any age, gender, race, and sexuality are welcome at the stadium.

The women’s game has grown a reputation for being a family-friendly day out and Sunderland Ladies games are no different. The last three years have been tough for Sunderland fans as a whole and the Lasses need your support more than ever.

Photo by Chris Fryatt

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Ed’s Note [Rich]: The club confirmed to Red & White Army on Thursday that tickets for Sunday’s match at the SOL and Season Cards that have been purchased before Thursday 1st September have been sent out and should arrive in the post in time for this weekend’s first home match.

Chris Waters, Supporter Liaison Officer, has told me that the club will not be able to process any more Season Cards this weekend.

The Blackburn game is all-ticket. There is no walk-up facility and there will be no cash turnstile. The ticket office will not be open, so you’ll have to have a printed ticket with QR code or on phone screen to gain entry at the Stadium of Light. If you know someone who might struggle with the technology, please help them to get their tickets either printed or put in their “wallet” on a smartphone.

The club also clarified on its website that Season Card holders gain access to unreserved seating at both Eppleton CW and the Stadium of Light - so you’ll be able to sit with your friends and family.

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