BY BOLAJI AFOLABI
Sunday May 24, 2026, the curtain was drawn on the 2025/26 season of the English Premier League, (EPL). At various stadia across the United Kingdom, clubs were engaged in the last games of the 380 matches, spanning 40 weeks in a 10-month long time. The EPL, is described as the most successful and popular football league in the world with billions of spectators, viewership, and supporters. As the most watched league globally, it has broadcast deals with numerous organizations like SKY TNT, NBC, and DAZN, covering 212 territories, and earning about 6.7 billion pounds annually on TV Rights only. For some lovers of football, and the EPL in particular, the highpoint of this season was the emergence of Arsenal FC as Champions – the first time after 22 years. For others, it was the exit of Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City FC Manager who won 20 trophies in 10 years. By the way, to underscore the marketing and business positions of the EPL, Arsenal earned 198.7 million pounds for winning the EPL – excluding revenues from other sources.
For the writer; a non-partisan lover of the beautiful game, and with no bias or sentimental attachment with any of the club sides in Europe and across the world, the out-of-the-book performances and achievements of the Sunderland AFC stands out. For soccer aficionados, football statisticians, and chroniclers of events, the feat recorded by the modest club which is from a city in Tyne & Wear of about 12 miles Southeast of Newcastle Upon Tyne will, for many seasons and years remain an important and strategic milestone of the EPL story. Sunderland AFC, which gained promotion back to the EPL before the commencement of the 2025/26 season, after some years in the tricky, tortuous, and difficult English Football League, (EFL) came 7th in the 20-team league. 
Aside from earning 168.2 million pounds from the EPL, it qualified for the 2026/27 Europa League competition alongside Bournemouth FC and Crystal Palace FC – they will jointly represent the UK in Europe’s second-tier club competition. Also, the club came tops as the EPL side to have over-performed against the money invested – earning 54 points; 8 more than the projected 36; it had the edge on the decimal points garnered over other clubs including the champions, City, United, Liverpool, and Villa. For unattached, unbiased, and neutral followers of football, the superlative performances of Sunderland AFC deserve special mention, attention, and analysis. Many people still wonder how a club that was in the third tier of English football 3 seasons ago has created a record; arguably the best by any club in its first season at the EPL, after promotion from the EFL.
Founded in 1879 as Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club by James Allen, it became a professional club in 1885. Known as “The Wearsiders” and “Black Cats” presently owned by Swiss-born businessman, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus; and partner, Juan Sartori, it has had its fair share of ups and downs in English football. Before the introduction of the EPL, it had won six top-flight titles, with the last one being in 1936, lifted the FA Cup twice, most famously in 1973, and the FA Community Shield in 1936. In the last decade, the club has been oscillating between the EPL, EFL, and League One. Despite its collection of mixed fortunes, Sunderland AFC has produced some notable players who have gone ahead, respectively to become respectable names in English football. It includes Jermaine Defore, Kevin Phillips, David Halliday, Niall Quinn, and Bobby Gurney – the club’s record goal scorer with 228 goals. Reuben Agboola, Asamoah Gyang, Steve Pienaar, Simon Adingra, and Ahmed ElMohamady are some of the Africans that have donned the red and white jersey of the club.
After an 8-year absence from the EPL, which saw Sunderland AFC campaigning in the dregy, cobwebry League One as well as the energy-sapping EFL, it got promoted to the elite division via the championship play-off in May 2025. The Board and Management of the club reasoned that after surviving the challenges and unpredictability of League One and EFL respectively, to stay afloat in the EPL required planning, operations, and results-yielding strategies. Coach Re’gis Le Bris, a French man, who has an impressive coaching career with Lorient FC, and Rennes FC in Ligue 1, came up with a deliberate and intentional blueprint towards ensuring that Sunderland turned the curve. Having crossed the first huddle, Bris, who was appointed as Manager in 2024, went to the next stage with passion, commitment, and conviction. He came up with an admixture of young, hungry players, and older, experienced ones – including home grown, home-adopted, and foreign. His philosophy was anchored on youth development, leadership, and togetherness.
Players like Granit Xhaka; Nordi Mukiele; Dennis Cirkin; Omar Alderete; Enzo Le Fee’; Wisdom Isidor; Brian Brobbey; Betrand Traore; and a few others became the nucleus of the club. On every match day, either at the club’s home ground “Stadium of Light” or any other stadia across the UK, the fans and spectators enthusiastically chant Sunderland AFC anthems – “The Greatest Team Yet” or “Sunderland Till I Die” as the players exhibits grit, brain, focus, hunger, sacrifices on the pitch of play. That Bris has transformed the club is no exaggeration. The club evolved with its unique tactical approach and technical skills with special emphasis on discipline, flexible passing, strong defense, never-tired engine-room, and enterprising build-up play. Through wide overloads, set-pieces, and patient, possession build-up, Bris imbibed the culture of adaptability and willingness to tweak playing styles which resulted in positive results.
Indeed, the Sunderland AFC model of success, which is hinged on strategic recruitment, astuteness, team dynamics, investment in youths, adaptability, and fan engagement can be adopted for realistic growth and development at the sub-national and national levels. From records, the seed of the club’s achievements were fed and watered – through proper planning, sincerity of purpose, and regular appraisals – a few years back. There was no rush or “fire brigade approach.” Though there were some negative results along the way, the entire segments of the club kept their focus on the bigger picture and target. At every stage, the club had to embark on necessary pruning, reviews, recalibration and renewals towards meeting the set objectives; to avoid relegation. Through deliberate, intentional, and sacrificial actions and operations, Sunderland AFC achieved this and more. From observation, all through the season, the tactical principles were pursued with utmost passion and unambiguous dedication.
Considering the overarching levels of accentuating poverty, pervading hunger, disabling unemployment, and other socioeconomic challenges in the country; particularly across the states, the Sunderland AFC’s model may be useful. From reports, the humongous allocation of funds to states have not translated to realistic and visible changes in the lives of the people. Despite the huge monthly allocations of between 1.818 trillion and 2.036 trillion between June 2025 and April 2026, there have been no positive impacts in the lives of people and improvements on infrastructures in the majority of the states. Apart from a few, residents are served menus of unbridled insensitivity, quantum deceit, and in-your-face shenanigans by their Leaders. While a few are alleged to be involved in spurious and wasteful ventures that are at variance with the pressing needs of states, some others are said to be involved in shameless thievery, multifaceted buffeting, and primitive acquisitions.
That Sunderland AFC was able to make 168.2 million pounds (about 302.8 billion naira) from EPL in its first season; outside other revenues, implies that their development model is working. What lessons can be learned? Are there principles that States can domesticate? Are there takeaways for States to make the people happy? Sub-nationals should be involved in proper planning that is built on sincerity of purpose, focus, and vision. Sunderland AFC’s ambition was to make it to the EPL in three years, and avoid relegation – they achieved all and more. How well do states carry out peer review assessments, and regular appraisals of policies and programmes? Are they strategic in the recruitment of appointees and aides? How well do the chief executives head-hunt for resourceful and experienced people or appointments are made purely on ethnic and tribal sentiments? Are they investing in youths as a deliberate policy for governance, leadership, and development?
Indeed, to justify the huge quarterly FAAC allocations, and some other revenues accrued to the sub-national level, Governors must imbibe the words of Brain Tracy that, “excellence is not a destination; it’s a continuous journey.” Like Sunderland AFC, States must be visionary; astute in thinking, operations, and assessments; promote dynamism; imbibe adaptability; and evolve avenues of engagement with the people at all times. As the chief executives of their respective states, they should realize that the improvement of the well-being of their citizens, the attraction of meaningful development, and protection of lives and properties are the reasons for being elected into office – not self-centredness, selfish demagoguery, and crass sectionalism.
* BOLAJI AFOLABI, a Development Communications specialist was with the Office of Public Affairs, The Presidency, Abuja.
