60 free Sunderland trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Sunderland were founded by a schoolmaster for fellow teachers, won three titles in their first five League seasons, and have spent more years in the top flight than almost anyone. This quiz walks the whole history: the Team of All Talents and Ned Doig's clean sheets, the 9-1 derby of 1908, Jimmy Thorpe's tragic death and the rule it changed, Raich Carter's 1936 champions, the Bank of England club, the 1958 first-ever relegation, Ian Porterfield and Jim Montgomery at Wembley in 1973, the Swindon back-door promotion of 1990, Peter Reid, Kevin Phillips's Golden Shoe, the 15- and 19-point seasons, Niall Quinn and Roy Keane, Netflix's 'Til I Die, League One and the 2025 play-off final. Early questions suit anyone who has sung 'Ha'way the lads'; later ones are for supporters who know their Fulwell End from their Roker End: which ground first charged admission, what stands on the crest beside the Penshaw Monument, which Dutch club Wearside shipbuilders befriended, and which Portuguese ground shares the stadium's name. Good for a supporters' club night or a Wearside pub quiz. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the club, its grounds and its records, and each question shows its source.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Sunderland were founded in 1879 by schoolmaster James Allan as a club for what group of people?
Teachers
Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C. opened up to non-teachers and dropped the name in October 1880.
Q 02William McGregor dubbed 1890s Sunderland the 'Team of All Talents' after a 7-2 win over which club?
Aston Villa
Sunderland won the title in 1891-92, only their second season in the League, and retained it the next year.
Q 03In 1892-93 Sunderland became the first team to do what in a Football League season?
Score 100 goals
Scottish centre-forward John Campbell passed 30 goals for the second season running.
Q 04After the 1895 title, Sunderland beat which Scottish champions in a game billed as the 'World Championship'?
Heart of Midlothian
Goalkeeper Ned Doig kept clean sheets in 87 of his 290 top-flight games, a 19th-century world record.
Q 05Sunderland's first manager, Tom Watson, resigned in 1896 to join which club?
Liverpool
He went on to win two titles at Anfield too, becoming the first manager to win the League with two clubs.
Q 06Sunderland's record league win, in December 1908, was a 9-1 victory over which opponents?
Their Tyne-Wear derby rivals
The 9-1 came at St James' Park, and Newcastle still went on to win the title that season.
Q 07In 1913 Sunderland won the league but lost their first FA Cup final 1-0 to which club?
Aston Villa
Irish manager Bob Kyle and Scottish captain Charles Thomson led the side to the title.
Q 08Whose 43 goals in 42 games in 1928-29 remain Sunderland's record for a single season?
Dave Halliday
The season before, his 35 goals had only just kept the club up by a single point.
Q 09Which two Sunderland players scored 31 goals each in the 109-goal 1935-36 title season?
Raich Carter and Bobby Gurney
Gurney is still the club's all-time top scorer with 228 goals in all competitions.
Q 10The 1936 death of Sunderland keeper Jimmy Thorpe, kicked after gathering a back-pass, led to what rule change?
Raising a foot to a goalkeeper in possession was banned
Thorpe finished the match against Chelsea, collapsed at home and died four days later.
Q 11Sunderland's first FA Cup win, in 1937, was a 3-1 victory over which club at Wembley?
Preston North End
Fan Billy Morris took a black cat to the final in his chest pocket for luck.
Q 12Sunderland's £18,000 signing of Ivor Broadis from Carlisle in 1949 was the first case of a player doing what?
Transferring himself, since he was also his club's manager
Record fees for Len Shackleton and Trevor Ford earned Sunderland the nickname 'the Bank of England club'.
Q 13Sunderland's 1950s nickname 'the Bank of England club' referred to what?
Q 21The Stadium of Light was built on the site of what?
Monkwearmouth Colliery
A Davy lamp monument stands outside and a colliery wheel tops the club crest as reminders.
Q 22Which member of the royal family opened the Stadium of Light in 1997?
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
The ground shares its name, in translation, with Benfica's Estádio da Luz.
Q 23Sunderland's 1999 promotion as First Division champions came with a then-record points total of how many?
105
They finished seventh in the Premier League the next season, with Kevin Phillips scoring 30 goals.
Heavy spending in the transfer market
In 1957 the club was fined £5,000 for paying players over the maximum wage, and relegated for the first time a year later.
Q 14Sunderland's first ever relegation, in 1958, ended a top-flight stay of how many years?
68
They had joined the League in 1890-91; the drop came a year after a fine for illegal payments to players.
Q 15Who scored the only goal, a 30th-minute volley, in Sunderland's 1973 FA Cup final win over Leeds?
Ian Porterfield
Montgomery's double save from Trevor Cherry and Peter Lorimer preserved the lead.
Q 16Which two clubs have matched Sunderland's 1973 feat of winning the FA Cup as a Second Division side?
Southampton (1976) and West Ham (1980)
The Cup win sent Sunderland into the Cup Winners' Cup, their only European campaign until 2026.
Q 17In the 1973-74 Cup Winners' Cup, Sunderland lost to which club after beating Vasas?
Sporting CP
It took until the 2025-26 seventh-place finish for Sunderland to qualify for Europe again.
Q 18Which 1985 League Cup final opponent later shared a 'Friendship Trophy' with Sunderland?
Norwich City
Good relations formed around that Milk Cup final; Sunderland lost their second League Cup final 3-1 to Manchester City in 2014.
Q 19In 1990 Sunderland lost the play-off final but were promoted anyway. Why?
Swindon Town's promotion was revoked over financial irregularities
Sunderland lasted one season before going down on the final day.
Q 20The Stadium of Light, opened in 1997, was at the time the largest stadium built in England since when?
The Second World War
It opened with a game against Ajax and its 42,000 capacity was raised to 49,000 in 2000.
Q 24Which Sunderland striker won the European Golden Shoe in 1999-2000 with 30 goals?
Kevin Phillips
He remains the only Englishman to have won the award.
Q 25Sunderland's 2005-06 relegation came with what then record-low Premier League points total?
15
They had already set the previous record with 19 points in 2003; Derby later went lower with 11.
Q 26Which former player headed the Drumaville Consortium that bought Sunderland in 2006 and hired Roy Keane?
Niall Quinn
Keane's side went on a 17-match unbeaten run to win promotion in his first season.
Q 27Which Ghana international did Sunderland sign for a then club-record £13 million in 2010?
Asamoah Gyan
Darren Bent's £10 million fee had been the record a year earlier; Bent left for Aston Villa in a deal worth up to £24 million.
Q 28Which Italian was controversially appointed Sunderland manager in March 2013?
Paolo Di Canio
He kept the club up with a game to spare before relations with his players broke down completely.
Q 29Sunderland lost the 2014 League Cup final 3-1 to which club under Gus Poyet?
Manchester City
Fans campaigned to get D:Ream's 'Things Can Only Get Better' back in the charts for the final, and it re-entered the Dance Chart at 19.
Q 30Which manager left Sunderland in July 2016 to take the England job?
Sam Allardyce
David Moyes replaced him and took two points from the first ten games, the worst start in Premier League history.