The Academy of Light has been Sunderland AFC’s training ground since March 2003. It also houses the Black Cats’ academy and Ladies’ teams over 220 acres in the village of Cleadon.
Sunderland moved into the Academy of Light to replace the ageing Charlie Hurley Centre on Cleadon Lane. The site cost the Stadium of Light side £10m to build and is also a UEFA five-star certified complex. But it has since cost the North East outfit further millions to maintain.
Players have access to state-of-the-art equipment and training facilities across the Academy of Light. It is one of England’s most well-regarded training grounds and provides Sunderland with prestigious Category One academy status. It is a far cry from the Black Cats’ old base.
Sunderland AFC training ground name
Sunderland named their training ground the Academy of Light as an offshoot of the Stadium of Light. It denotes the club’s philosophy of developing future stars and offering them a clear pathway into the first-team squad. The Black Cats strive to have an environment to progress.
Sir Bob Murray named the Stadium of Light as such when Sunderland moved to their ground in 1997. He wanted to honour the coal mining heritage of the North East with it built on the former site of the Monkwearmouth Colliery. The name signifies the lamps that miners used.
How many pitches are there at the Academy of Light?
The Academy of Light has a total of 19 pitches with Sunderland able to use up to 18 outdoor fields and an indoor 4G synthetic surface at their training ground. The 4G pitch is set inside a vast sports barn. While several other areas of Sunderland’s training base are underground.
Even the England women’s national team have used the Academy of Light as their training ground. The Lionesses have further played games at the Stadium of Light, even causing the EFL to agree to change the date of some Sunderland fixtures to accommodate their games.
What other facilities does Sunderland AFC’s training ground have?
Sunderland built large areas of their training base below ground level so that above-surface buildings were still low-profile in design. The entire first floor of the Academy of Light is not visible from the ground level and houses vast amounts of the equipment on offer at the site.
Players for all of the Black Cats’ representative teams have access to a hydrotherapy pool at the Academy of Light. It also has top-class medical facilities and restaurants on site. While a £3m project saw Sunderland add the indoor facilities in December 2012 after several delays.
Local residents in nearby Cleadon and Whitburn had rejected Sunderland’s plans to build an indoor facility at their training ground. Their objections had forced the Black Cats to use the city’s Crowtree Leisure Centre for indoor sessions before shrinking the scale of the building.
What is the address?
Sunderland AFC’s training ground: The Academy of Light, Sunderland Road, Cleadon, SR6 7UN, England