The Sunderland change we all wanted!

Sunderland’s new hummel home kit has already broken several sales records, and having been very well received upon being revealed on Friday the change kit is surely going to shift big numbers too.

It had been strongly rumoured it would be based on the strip worn by the Lads in the 1992 FA Cup final – often considered one of the most popular designs ever amongst supporters – and when the promo landed a couple of days before the full ‘drop’ the soundtrack confirmed it; for those that hadn’t twigged on, the dulcet tones playing in the background at Durham’s Old Cinema Laundrette in Gilesgate Moor were those of the Wembley bound squad from over 30 years ago.

With Nottingham Forest in their traditional red at the Pinatar Arena on the evening of the release, the timing made a lot of sense. The club hopes in future to be able to release tops a lot earlier in the summer, but with their new deal with hummel only just coming into force the preseason game against the Tricky Trees was the perfect opportunity for Régis Le Bris’ team to try out the new/old look for the first time.

As seen in Spain and via the launch, rather than just being influenced by the 1991 to 1994 change shirt, the 2024-25 iteration is pretty much a like for like knock up of the terrace favourite. Although still a wrap over, the collar is darker and patterned slightly differently, the hummel logo has been rearranged and the chevron’s amended, but the main idea remains the same – a stunning white body with dark blue and green sleeve detailing – and of course, the main talking point, the return of the old badge that hasn’t been seen on the strips since 1997.

The current club crest does make an appearance on the back of the tops, just underneath the collar, yet the reappearance of the ‘ship’ is a massive winner after years of speculation. Already referenced on the new home kit, and with a similar motif on the relaunched website and new paper tickets, the much loved vessel has played a massive part in the ongoing rebrand of SAFC. Countless fans have wanted to see the badge being made more of, and several online reactions are now suggesting that this slightly sharper angled shield outline is the thing that will see folk buying a replica again having not bothered in the past.

White shorts, as were initially expected to be used in the first instance when the 1990’s version was introduced, are paired with white socks and matching updated chevron detailing. To go with the ensemble there is a blueish hue goalkeeper colourway which uses the same template it would appear as the home option and thus ensures that the set of original Tony Norman versions first seen in 1989-90 have now been not so much mimicked but reimagined (the new accompanying shorts are akin to the original outfield alternatives, that were then worn more regularly than the intended white).

Having not been able to buy replica goalkeeper shirts last season, supporters saw the green design fly off the shelves when it went on sale and like the outfield variation, the stoppers have been given an instant classic. It will also be accompanied by another ‘matchday collection’ of anthem, warm-up and pre-match tops, modelled by Emily Scarr and Jessica Brown, that lean on the current ‘bloke core’ and casual trends and should also sell rapidly.

Following the confirmation, the coming season will be the first in a while to see the Lads and Lasses wear white on the road. Although the tone has been a regular away choice for Sunderland in the past, its increased usage as a base for the traditional home stripes has seen this wane of late; in 2017-18 adidas brought out an all white keeper option, and the campaign before they issued a predominately white change kit (with large blue slash), but opting to go fully back to a traditional choice is a welcome step. The whole idea has been so desperately awaited that marketing it would seem like an open goal, but that too has been spot on in all fairness – the designers seemingly ‘getting’ it and therefore deserving plenty of credit for the package.

It is important to the fans that Sunderland have the details right and a lot of thought has obviously gone into the concept. For example, a tin of Black Cat Cigarettes– so named because the owner of the manufacturer Carreras ran a shop in London in which customers had grown fond of such an animal that would regularly plonk itself down by the window – features in the backdrop to some of the promotional items and draws parallels with the cat that similarly made itself at home at Roker Park during the late 1900’s and early 1910’s.

Less opaque are the framed photos of Eric Gates, Don Goodman, Marco Gabbiadini and what seems to be Paul Bracewell, that sit on top of the washing machines in the visualiser teaser and subsequent full video that the club has put out. There have been plenty such nods to Sunderland’s previous hummel days, working alongside to the wider ‘legacy continues’ theme that has been implemented since it was first confirmed the Danish brand would be returning to Wearside, but it is Gary Bennett MBE that is the real star here; an iconic fella for an iconic shirt, his cameo and the symmetry with the current day players are fantastically judged.

There’s been a suggestion that those travelling to Spain for the preseason tour have already been gifted complimentary shirts by the club, a fantastic gesture that will make those involved hugely envied by their marras back home. For the rest of us, it is a waiting game until next week when the strip goes on sale in the club shop, and ‘there aint no stopping’ those wishing to queue around the block in order to get one.