For all the good that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has done at Sunderland, he’s really riled up the club’s loyal fanbase with the latest news regarding junior tickets.
Sunderland have one of the most loyal and formidable fanbases in the whole country. And of course, the club will want to usher in the next generation of young Sunderland fans by getting them to attend games.
But owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and co, behind the scenes at the Stadium of Light, have just made that a whole lot more difficult ahead of the 2025/26 season, which might yet be played in the Premier League.
Despite a 1-1 draw against Preston on Tuesday night, Regis Le Bris’ side remain in 4th place of the Championship table, with a healthy 13 point cushion between themselves and Coventry City in 6th.
And on Saturday, Sunderland take on Frank Lampard’s Coventry City in the final game before the March international break, with a win for the Black Cats bound to settled the nerves ahead of the run in.
Sunderland’s latest ticket update leaves fans fuming
Whilst a win on Saturday would do the club a world of good, it won’t take away from the latest ticket announcement, which has a number of Sunderland supporters up in arms on social media as juniors may now find it even more difficult to attend games, threatening that future Sunderland fanbase that Louis-Dreyfus will be keen to ensure.
The club has announced: “Following a significant number of junior tickets not being redeemed during 2024-25 and previous seasons, fans must now use or forward their ticket for at least 70% of fixtures to be entitled to future loyalty pricing and risk having their Season Ticket cancelled if persistently not attending games.”
But the argument from supporters is that many juniors simply can’t attend a lot of games because Sunderland’s fixtures keep on getting moved around by the EFL.
Having so many evening kicks offs makes it difficult for juniors to attend with school in the day time. Saturday or Sunday lunchtime kicks off are difficult too, as many juniors have hobbies and activities like football at that time of the weekend.
The decision has understandably angered Sunderland fans who also want to see more youngsters attending games.
Sunderland fans angry with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus after wage reveal
For owner Louis-Dreyfus, this isn’t the first bout of criticism he’s faced from Sunderland fans of late.
Sunderland fans fumed at Louis-Dreyfus after it was revealed that the club has the 15th lowest wage bill in the Championship which many view as him ‘penny-pinching’, although that divided opinion.
But this latest ticket news seems to have fans all in agreement that it’s a bad move from the club, and not one that an owner with the club’s best interests at heart would necessarily make.
In fairness, Sunderland can’t do much when the EFL and Sky Sports make calls to move games for TV purposes. Maybe it’s time that Sunderland and other clubs make a stand against it.