As I stood queuing outside the Stadium of Light club store on Friday morning, awaiting the release of Sunderland’s new away strip for the 2026/27 season, there was a delicious irony as a black cloud appeared and a bolt of lightning struck the banks of the River Wear – a reminder, perhaps, from Elvis Presley himself that he is indeed in the building.
The lightning bolt, synonymous with arguably the greatest performing artist of all time, adorns the neckline of the Presley-themed pink and black away
jersey that Régis Le Bris’ side will wear in the Premier League and Europa League next season. As a man who once shocked audiences across America, I’m sure he’d appreciate just how well Sunderland’s youthful charges are performing at the World Cup Stateside this summer.
It’s been truly inspiring watching just how well some of our players have performed on the big stage, particularly over the last week or so. Brian Brobbey has stolen the headlines with a couple of Man of the Match performances for the Netherlands, muscling his way into contention in a style that only he could manage, before notching three goals with the type of performances Sunderland supporters became familiar with last season.
Then, of course, there has been Nilson Angulo, who was rewarded with a start for Ecuador against Germany in their final group game and repaid his manager’s faith with an unbelievable goal and, like Brobbey, a Man of the Match award to boot.
And who could forget Wilson Isidor, who scored what has been the goal of the tournament so far for his Haiti side in their final group game against one of the meanest sides on the planet right now in Morocco – something that, in typical Isidor fashion, has firmly planted him in the spotlight.
Isn’t it just… nice? For once, Sunderland are no longer the butt of the jokes and, instead, TV commentators are tripping over themselves to talk our club up during their World Cup coverage. It feels as though few clubs have been mentioned as often by the pundits, and it’s always with good reason – either commenting on how many players we have involved in the tournament or pointing out that, yes, this unbelievably talented footballer you’re watching does indeed ply their trade on Wearside.
As we’re all well aware, this is a new, modern, forward-thinking Sunderland, and over the last 12 months or so we’ve done an incredible job of launching ourselves back onto the world stage. The way we are seen by those outside the Sunderland bubble is incredibly important, particularly when it comes to attracting global partnerships and bringing the best possible players to our city to join us on our journey into Europe.
And that’s why we – the traditional, long-tenured Sunderland supporters who are still trying to wrap our heads around the direction the club is going in – have to broaden our minds occasionally.
As soon as I heard we were releasing a pink kit, I knew it would split opinion. Not to tar us all with the same brush, but Sunderland’s not the most liberal of places, and the idea of wearing something pink is still abhorrent to some. But what it stands for is the most important thing. Andrew covered the symbolism behind the shirt brilliantly on Friday, so I won’t labour those points here, because this strip is yet another example of the club thinking outside the box to maximise revenues and create a unique product that doesn’t just rely on Sunderland supporters buying it and, in turn, generating the money that helps us put the best possible team out on the pitch.
Partnering with the Elvis Presley estate enables the club not only to create something completely unique, but also something that appeals to Elvis fans all around the world and kit collectors in every corner of the globe.
These shirts are going to be sold in Graceland, for God’s sake.
Think about that for a second.
We’re growing our brand, and all of these little things most certainly add up and will hopefully translate into Sunderland enjoying success both on and off the pitch.
The world is now watching us, and we have to keep delivering. Thankfully, there are people at the top of the club who understand this far better than I ever could. If it were down to me, we’d still have Vaux on the front of the shirts, and the players would all be forced to wear black boots! Sometimes you have to remove some of the emotion to make commercially viable decisions, and it can be difficult to do that as a supporter, especially when you often have red-and-white tunnel vision.
Having had the good fortune of spending time in the company of Tom Burwell and Florent Ghisolfi, I feel confident that the club is in safe hands and has genuinely impressive executives running the show. They didn’t rebuild this football club on their own – and credit has to go to those who came before them, particularly David Bruce and Kristjaan Speakman – but they’re now part of our journey, part of our family, and are incredibly determined to ensure that Sunderland finishing seventh in the Premier League and qualifying for European competition is not a flash in the pan.
Both men have encouraged supporters to “enjoy” this feeling that we have right now, so that’s exactly what I’m going to keep doing. Every kit launch, every World Cup Man of the Match performance or goal, every incoming signing, every good bit of PR, every ‘moment in time’ captured on social media, every jaunt across Europe to watch the Lads play, every bolt of lightning – just remember to enjoy it, savour it, and never forget just how far we’ve come.
