I’m honoured and delighted to be appointed Chairman of the Sunderland AFC Former Players Association and will do what I can to match the achievements of my predecessors.

We enjoy an excellent relationship with Sunderland AFC and have established an important role for ourselves in the local community, especially through the significant financial help we have been able to give to many local charities and good causes. In addition, individual members have, in their own time, and frequently at their own expense, attended or taken part in a wide range of activities such as prize giving ceremonies and health promotion events.

As Chairman I’m determined we shouldn’t rest on our laurels. I want the Association to continue enjoying and strengthening its relationship with the Club whilst, at the same time, maintaining and increasing our involvement with supporters and local good causes. To help in this we have introduced an integrated policy for using social media, resulting in the creation of a Face Book page and launching this new website which is linked to it. 

To provide a reliable point of contact for anyone with an enquiry about our members, or indeed, any ex-Sunderland player there are now three points of contact so that queries can be followed up as quickly as possible.  

Taken together these initiatives should allow a much greater exchange of news and views between the Association, our members and supporters.

Finally, can I ask that if you have any suggestions to improve the service we offer you contact us and let us know what they are.

Gary Bennett,

Chairman,

Sunderland Former Players Association, March 2016