Sunderland going up up – then down a bit

Sunderland AFC Ladies’ promotion to the FA Women’s Championship will see them welcome the likes of Liverpool, Watford and Sheffield United next season – if their visitors can find them.

The Wearside team finally moved into the second tier of the women’s game after their previous two seasons were cut short due to the pandemic. They had the best points-per-game average and were given their overdue reward, joining Durham in the same division.

However, amid the jubilation a map included in a Twitter message from the FA Women’ s Championship has left fans feeling a little lost.

Using the crest of each club in the division, the map of England shows the geographical location of all 12 sides. At least that was the idea. Closer examination shows that Sunderland has “moved” about 50 miles south to the outskirts of the North Yorkshire Mo ors near Helm sley.

The map also suggests that fans of Du rh a mW F Cw ill no longer be in sight of their cathedral at home games, but will have an unrivalled view of York Minster, 70miles away.

Lewes FC from East Sussex have “moved” more than 30 miles west to Bognor Regis, while Liverpool is shoved slightly further inland.

One Twitter user asked: “You lot ever been to Sunderland or Durham?”

Other comments included: “Sounds good, and not as far to travel if Durham has been moved to that location”, “Looking forward to watching Durham playing in York.”The Echo has so far been unable to contact anyone at the FA for a comment.