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Sunderland AFC (England)

image by Zachary Harden, 7 April 2020

Description of the flag
Foundation of Light

Description of the flag

The Netflix series "Sunderland 'Til I Die" takes an inside look of the English football club Sunderland AFC. In this series, it will show their main grounds (Stadium of Light) and their training grounds (Academy of Light). At both of these grounds, flags of the club and sponsors are present (along with the Union Flag), but I focus more on the club flags and football related flags.

In the first episode or two, the Academy of Light was shown as the players and staff walked into the facility and an overview of the entrance was displayed. The set of flags used at the AOL was the following: Union Flag, Club and a sponsor flag, with that last flag being the closest to the entrance. The club flag is their badge on a white background.

The crest itself was published in July 1997, which was the same time the club moved to the Stadium of Light. The description of the crest, according to their club website, is as follows:

"The club wanted to ensure that the distinctive crest paid tribute to the club's loyal supporters by including images from across the region. The crest includes a central shield which is divided into quarters, two of these featuring unmistakable regional landmarks. The Wearmouth Bridge, featured in the bottom right of the shield, links the north and south of the city, while Penshaw Monument, in the top left, is a well-known landmark and is included to acknowledge the depth of support for the team outside the City boundaries. The two remaining quarters proudly boast the internationally recognised red and white stripes of Sunderland AFC. Supporting either side of the crest are a pair of majestic lions which also feature on the City of Sunderland's coat of arms - a reference to the long tradition of mutual support between two great institutions. A colliery wheel crowns the club crest in honour of the strong mining traditions of County Durham and acts as a reminder that the Stadium of Light lies on land once occupied by Wearmouth Colliery. Entwined with the colliery wheel is the club motto, "Consectatio Excellentiae" - "In pursuit of excellence", a fitting inspiration to the team and its supporters."
Source: http://www.safc.com/the-club/about-us/history/club-crest

This same flag can be found at the SOL (Club's official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8GZKn6Khza/).
Zachary Harden, 7 April 2020

Foundation of Light

image by Zachary Harden, 7 April 2020

The second associated club flag, which can also be seen at the Club's official Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/p/B8GZKn6Khza, the club's charity arm, the Foundation of Light. The SAFC badge is to the left of the name of the charity and the tagline "The World At Your Feet" below the foundation name. The flag appears to be red; the badge is outlined in white, the charity name is in white and the tagline in black. I have not seen it used on the Netflix show so far.
Zachary Harden, 7 April 2020

Sunderland AFC - it plays in the northeastern port town which shares its name, just to the south of the city of Newcastle, and as such it's fiercest rivals are Newcastle United (who are currently in the EPL). Sunderland have twice won the country's top knockout competition, the FA Cup, most recently in 1973 when they surprised the country's then top team, Leeds United. The team was founded in 1879 and have been in the league since 1890, winning it six times, though none of those successes have been since World War II. The team has faced financial problems in recent years, which were a major reason for their fall from the top flight to their current position in League 1 - their lowest ever place in the league. The team's traditional strip is a vertically striped red and white shirt with black shorts and red socks - their current away strip is blue all over. Notable former players of the club have included "Pop" Robson, Niall Quinn, Kenwyne Jones, John O'Shea, and Asamoah Gyan.
James Dignan, 8 April 2020