NEWS FLASH: Sunderland fans are upset that competitors have prevailed in the contest despite their "late interest" in the city's spectacular center-back.

2024/25 CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR GUIDE: PART ONE

All 23 of our opponents for the 2024/25 Championship season have now been confirmed. This is part one of two articles giving you a rundown of the stadiums we will visit across the coming campaign. Part two will be published tomorrow.

EWOOD PARK: BLACKBURN ROVERS

Ewood Park is one of the larger stadiums in the Championship, ranking ninth with a capacity of 31,367. Although last season it worked to our advantage as we received an allocation of 3,969 and ended up winning 3-1. Blackburn had the emptiest stadium in the league, with it only being 49.6% full on average across the season, which is an attendance of 15,583 per game. The journey is not a long one, just 146 miles separate the Stadium of Light and the home of the Riversiders.

ASHTON GATE: BRISTOL CITY

Ashton Gate had renovation work done in 2016, expanding The Dolman Stand. With the increased capacity they have a ranking of twelfth in Championship stadiums with it now holding 27,000. Last season we travelled 294 miles from the SoL to Bristol and our only reward was a boring 1-0 defeat. Our allocation was 2,698 which is alright despite the marathon distance involved.

TURF MOOR: BURNLEY

Burnley have a stadium towards the smaller side of things in the second tier with a capacity of 21,944. Last time out we got a crucial point in a 0-0 draw. A very good result considering that we were one of the few teams to get anything at Burnley that season, and overall, it was a very enjoyable trip out for the fans. We got an allocation of 2,300 which is fair given the size of the ground. It’s not a far trip either, clocking in at 114 miles.

CARDIFF CITY STADIUM: CARDIFF CITY

A sizable trip to South Wales of 310 miles. This stadium holds a decent 33,280 and is also the Welsh national team’s home. Because of how big it is, it was disappointing that last season we only received an allocation of 2,400 (but then again we didn’t sell out). But at least we won 2-0, which was a welcome result given the fact we hadn’t won a match since February and hadn’t picked up three points away since the previous December.