No not waistlines.. Club seems to be doing a bit of travelling... ................................................. Sunderland are set to take part in a prestigious seven-a-side tournament in Hong Kong later this week. A total of 10 players will depart the UK today bound for the Hong Kong Soccer 7's, which the club also entered in 2010, reaching the semi-finals. Goalkeeper Ben Wilson plus defenders Liam Marrs, Blair Adams, Jordan Watson and Louis Laing will all make the trip. They will be joined by midfielders Alejandro Gorrin, Craig Lynch and Billy Knott, plus forwards Adam Mitchell and Jordan Laidler. Led by coach Mark Atkinson, the youngsters will train on Thursday and Friday before playing three group games on Saturday. The Black Cats have been drawn in Pool A alongside Scottish side Rangers as well as Kowloon CC and Singapore CC. Should Sunderland progress, they will take part in the Finals Day on Sunday before the party fly home the following day. Fellow Barclays Premier League clubs Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Chelsea are also taking part, as well as Leicester City, West Ham United, Celtic and a number of local sides. ............................................................................................. Kevin Ball and his under-18 side flew to California yesterday for a post-season development trip. Ball and the squad are being hosted by the Pacific Soccer Academy, who have a relationship with the club. The young Black Cats will face a PSA XI on May 16 before taking on Stanford and Santa Clara Universities on May 18 and May 21 respectively. During the trip, the players will stay with host families - similar to their living arrangements during the season in the UK. Representatives from PSA have already visited Sunderland and Ball is looking forward to testing his players Stateside. "We have some difficult games ahead of us but I have to say the facilities over there are absolutely magnificent," he said. "We're really looking forward to playing the games and we'll be taking the players into the San Francisco area, too. "The trip includes a visit to Alcatraz - and yes, I have thought about leaving one or two of them there! "There will be some good downtime but we have the importance of the games too. I want the players to enjoy it, but they are expected to go about things well football-wise." ........................................................................... And with the first team already heading to Korea pre-season, seems they are determined to spread the name of the club..
