Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has just donated a whopping £10,000 ahead of Sunderland’s FA Cup meeting with Newcastle United next month.
The Black Cats owner became the top donor of The Spirit of 37’s latest fundraiser as they look to prepare a full stadium display for the Wear-Tyne derby.
The Spirit of 37 have regularly organised stadium displays full of flags and banners, most recently getting all kitted out ahead of the defeat to Middlesbrough in October.
The group tend to go all out for some of Sunderland’s biggest games, so it came as no surprise to see a GoFundMe page created following the FA Cup draw that will see Sunderland host Newcastle United in the third round on January 6.
The fundraiser had had an initial target of £10,000 after it was created yesterday, but it wasn’t long before Kyril Louis-Dreyfus blew that out of the water with his own £10k donation.
At the time of writing, donations have reached £13,647, with a new target of £20,000 set.
The Spirit of 37 took to X yesterday evening and wrote: “Thank you to everyone who’s donated so far. We have spoken to the supplier of the materials used in displays, and a full stadium is going to cost around £15,000. We know this is a lot, especially when the club don’t fund it, so thank you!”
With less than £1500 more to be raised over the next four weeks, the group will be very confident that they will have raised enough money to put on the entire display – with many thanks going to Louis-Dreyfus.
Sunderland are in good hands
While £10,000 won’t be much out of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ pocket, it is still an unbelievable thing to do for the club.
The 25-year-old has put plenty of time and money into the side that he joined in 2021, but his recent donation suggests that he understands just how important this game against Newcastle will be to us fans.
While the stadium display doesn’t affect the outcome of the game – as we know from the Middlesbrough loss – it will certainly bring a brilliant atmosphere back to the Stadium of Light that we haven’t had since the last derby almost eight years ago.