Sunderland Albion F.C.

Sunderland Albion Football Club was an English association football club based in Sunderland, England, formed in 1888. Sunderland Albion and Sunderland A.F.C. were rivals for the period before Albion disbanded in 1892. The club was reformed in 2020 but has ceased operations as of 2022. Summary Sunderland Albion were formed by some members of Sunderland A.F.C. who did not like the commercial direction the club was taking. When both clubs were drawn together in both the FA Cup and the Durham Challenge Cup in the 1888–89 season, Sunderland withdrew from both competitions rather than allow Albion to benefit from the increased gate receipts. However, to meet public demand for the two clubs to play against one another, two friendly matches were arranged, both won by Sunderland: 2 - 0 on 1 December 1888, in front of 18,000 spectators and 3 - 2 on 12 January 1889, in front of 12,000 spectators. Albion were founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889, but when Sunderland joined The Football League in 1890, attendance of crowds for Albion had. To try to gain extra support, Albion joined the Northern League and played in both leagues in the 1890–91 season before concentrating on the latter. Albion disbanded after Sunderland won the Football League title in 1891–92. Introduction In December 1887, Sunderland used ineligible professional players Monaghan, Richardson and Hastings, who had been "imported" from Dumfries for the match to defeat Middlesbrough in an FA Cup tie. Sunderland were subsequently disqualified from the rest of the tournament after this was revealed. This resulted in an outrage from players in Sunderland A.F.C. who were displeased with the decision to use ineligible players by the Sunderland club.