Play on the Pitch is once again looking forward to hosting our junior tournament at the Stadium of Light, home of Sunderland AFC. With the club back in the Premier League, there can be no more exciting time to play at this spectacular stadium!

The Stadium of Light, with a capacity of over 49,000, is undoubtedly one of the most impressive stadiums in the country and playing on the pitch at the stadium will provide an amazing experience for junior grassroots teams.

With 4 pitches set up on the main stadium pitch, we are able to deliver a great tournament format with group matches and then Finals. All teams play 5 matches of 12 minutes, so have a guaranteed 60 minutes of match time in the tournament. This is made up of 3 group matches and then Semi-Final and Final matches.

Following the group matches, teams will progress either to the Champions Cup or Shield Competition. Not only does this ensure that all teams play their Finals matches against teams of a similar standard, it also means that the teams playing in the Shield Competition have the opportunity to win the Shield Final and take home a winners trophy.

To ensure the players fully enjoy their time at the stadium, they will also visit the home and away changing rooms and have their names announced as they line up in the players’ tunnel and walk out on to the stadium pitch. We award medals and certificates to all players and there will be trophy presentations for the winner and runners-up teams in both the Champions Cup and Shield Competition in each age group.