“Football is for the fans” is something everyone in the game should be fully aware of.
The cost of following our teams is on the rise — whether that’s for match tickets, merchandise or the external cost of transport), and Sunderland’s new membership scheme is divisive to say the least, with non-season-ticket holders like myself asked to pay £48 for a membership to feel like we are part of the club — which I am, to an extent.
Loyalty is a tough factor to gauge, with the easiest indicator being those
fans who go to every single game at home and away, no matter what. This is a level of commitment I admire and, in some ways, envy.
What’s to be commended is that despite some of the changes, namely the away ticket ballot, it still ensures that the most loyal of fans; those that’ve gone to home and away games for years, remain in a position of strength.
The membership scheme is structured so that non-season ticket holders, which make up large majority of our supporter base, will need to go through a ballot to get home tickets. Demand has increased, which of course is to be expected when we were promoted and qualified for Europe at the first attempt.
I’ve lived away from the North East for most of the last ten years, and it’s no surprise that getting home tickets, and even away tickets between 2017 and 2022 was a piece of cake.
Those days are gone for now, and the truth is fans have come back after staying away for the Championship and League One years.
Our exploits in the last two seasons have put Sunderland in the spotlight, and we’re no longer a big club languishing in the depths of the Football League. This, plus some bloody good marketing and lovely Hummel gear, will naturally result in more eyes on us and, as a result, more bums on seats.
One fear I have for season ticket holders and members moving forward is that we end up in a position like some Manchester United fans. Obviously we’re a long way away from the success of United, but it seems like every summer, there are cases of long-term season ticket holders having their tickets cancelled for trivial reasons.
The club needs to make money but it can’t be at the expense of the fans who stuck by us during the dark times. I have faith this won’t happen, but it’s something we need to be wary of if we continue on a positive trajectory.
It’s become much harder to support the club from a distance, but I know many more fans live much further away from Sunderland than me who won’t have seen the Lads even half as many times as I have in the past three years.
Over time, the membership scheme will make me feel more connected to the club.
Whilst it may make getting to home games more of a lottery, if it does this for supporters living overseas, from my perspective it can only be a positive — and it’ll be interesting to look back at the membership setup in twelve months’ time.
