Off the field operations
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Ok, please explain to me what exactly this states? Currently no front of shirt of sponsor... Does not mean the club will not put one on for the on field players shirt that will be worn on a match day.
IF it said their will be NO front of shirt sponsor for the Elvis shirt then fair enough, but it doesn't use definitive wording, just open ended wording which suggests their will be. Also, the fact they're offering to put a sponsor on if you take it back to the club shop suggests their will be a sponsor on it and fans who want their shirt to look like the players will ultimately have that option. Otherwise who would want to put a sponsor on the shirt and have it look different to the official one.
I've not read all of your posts with Mart so if their is another article that states otherwise from the 2 I have quoted, then fair enough. But so far, it's all open to change from what I have seen.
Would never have believed that a black and pink kit would work, but it looks really smart
How do you console an English teacher? Say "Their, There, They're" 
Tad rude DH4 and fyi on a good day im a high functioning moron not an idiot!I look down on idiots and i will say no more on the subject.
People squabbling about grammar and whether there’ll be a sponsor when club has explicitly stated there will be is daft.
Behave lads.
Behave lads.
Been to the club shop and yes it does look a lot better up front so I just had to buy 1. What's more, the sizing looks better than the last 2 seasons and I didn't have to size up so I'm feeling quite happy at the moment
Maybe that's why we are struggling to get a sponsor over the line. Getting them to agree to potentially half of our games not advertising their product they are paying us millions to advertise will be a tough deal to broker
The pic is mine mate, he just reversed it.
Way better, none of that slack collar **** and weak print on inside.
It’s bang on.
It just all works in the detail. The pattern on it works really well.
Yes I can vouch for that. It’s a lot nicer when you see it up close
Absolutely bang on about the sizing mate. Like I said in the earlier post I ordered the varsity jacket in large but I tried on the medium in the shop thinking it would be too tight and it fit like a dream! I was driving away from the shop thinking I’ll just return the large when it arrives and get the medium. Then the voices of doubt crept in……”what if it’s sold out in a few weeks????”…..so I turned the car around and went back and bought the medium!!
Aye sizing is perfect.
Blue last year fits me perfect but tiny bit of belly weight and it’s brutal.
Much more forgiving cut on the body this but still perfect over chest and shoulders.
‘True to size’ for sure.
The Mrs has just booked us on a holiday in Milan, flying Tuesday.
Off to the club shop on Monday with my winnings. It would be very rude not to.
Off to the club shop on Monday with my winnings. It would be very rude not to.
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Sunderland's new away kit is inspired by Elvis Presley Getty Images/Sunderland AFC
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By Philip Buckingham
June 26th, 2026 Updated 5:15 pm GMT+1
On the 49th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s final concert this week came a Premier League kit launch like no other.
A multi-year collaboration between Sunderland and the late King of Rock and Roll’s estate has inspired a new pink away kit that will be worn in 2026-27.
Some things are meant to be, Sunderland said upon its release on Thursday evening, but how, when Elvis famously never set foot on English soil ?
The Athletic analyses the origins of a replica kit that the Premier League club hopes will help them to attract a new North American audience.
What’s Sunderland’s connection with Elvis Presley?
The loose association stretches back almost half a century to the point that Sunderland fans first adopted 'Can’t Help Falling in Love' as a club anthem.The story, albeit not a definitive one, is that supporters began to sing it in the days that followed Elvis’ death when playing Hull City in August 1977. It stuck as an enduring ode to their football club (“take my hand, take my whole life too”) and has become a part of the matchday experience at the Stadium of Light.
The song is played ahead of kick-off and at full time, and in a modern world of driving social media engagement has been used to showcase the club’s devoted following. The 2-1 win against Chelsea on the final day of last season, which secured a place in the Europa League, saw players and fans singing the chorus together amid the celebrations.
Not that its cultural relevance is new. Wise Men Say, the opening lyric from the song, was initially a printed Sunderland fanzine in the 1990s, and since 2013 has also been one of the club’s leading podcasts.
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Sunderland’s new pink kit Sunderland AFC
How did this collaboration come about ?
Sunderland’s partnership with kit manufacturer Hummel, revived in 2024, has seen a number of bespoke kits made with nods to the city, and back in early 2025 there was formal contact made with the Authentic Brands Group, who hold a controlling stake in the Elvis Presley estate, to explore how the two parties could come together.“The song, Can’t Help Falling in Love, has been synonymous with Sunderland since the 1970s,” Scott McCubbin, Sunderland’s chief commercial officer, tells The Athletic. “You’ve got fans belting out the song at each game, and on the back of last season, when we had a greater profile, we were keen to take advantage of that.
“We haven’t seen anyone do something of this magnitude before. Sunderland want to be bold, ambitious and to try new things.”
A “multi-year collaboration” deal was struck earlier this year that would allow Sunderland to produce a merchandise range dedicated to Elvis, including an away kit for the 2026-27 season.
The club’s press release says that the pink shirt, complete with black shoulders, is a nod to Elvis’ “breakthrough years on the Louisiana Hayride” and carries the song title 'Can’t Help Falling in Love' on the back of the collar. Elvis’ signature is also carried inside the shirt.
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Elvis’ signature in the collar of the new Sunderland shirt Sunderland AFC
The kit, still without a front-of-shirt sponsor after the expiry of a deal with bookmakers W88, was launched on Thursday with a video shot at Sunderland’s Empire theatre, and is accompanied by a training range that is inspired by Blue Hawaii, the soundtrack album that carried 'Can’t Help Falling in Love' when released in 1961.
Sunderland have called this kit “episode one” pointing towards further activations with the Elvis Presley Estate in the coming seasons. “We’re excited to see that connection brought to life through this collaboration,” said Dana Carpenter, EVP Media & Entertainment, Authentic Brands Group, in a press release accompanying the launch.
What do Sunderland hope to get from it ?
Exposure, ultimately. Tom Burwell, the club’s chief executive, has made no secret of his ambition to widen the club’s fan base beyond its core base in the north east of England, and this kit is a part of that plan as Sunderland count down to a season that will feature European football for the first time since 1973.Expanding the club’s fan base internationally means growing the club’s bottom line, and next month brings a U.S. tour, including games against Liverpool in Nashville, Leeds United in New Jersey and Wrexham in Chester, Pennsylvania. The new Elvis kit will also be available to buy from Graceland, the singer’s former home in Memphis, from early July, and Sunderland believe that it will be the first sporting apparel sold from that famous site.
It also doesn’t do any harm that pink is football’s most on-trend colour, from the shirt worn by Lionel Messi at Inter Miami to the boots being sported by many of the players at this summer’s World Cup.
“We’ve spoken as a club about exporting Sunderland to the world on this global stage, and we were thinking of ways that would continue to make Sunderland culturally relevant,” adds McCubbin.
“We want to capture the needs and interests of our core fan base, but also create something that’s more broadly culturally relevant. Given the iconic nature of Elvis’s status, we felt that it was a brilliant way to potentially bring a new audience into the Sunderland ecosystem, particularly so in North America.
“The Sunderland ‘Til I Die documentary really gave traction over there and it’s something that we’re keen to build on this summer with our tour.”
The pink colour is like nothing Sunderland have tried before in their various away kits, but the hope is for it to be remembered.
