They’re dubbed the Black Cats, their main colour is red, but many of their stadium seats have gone pink due to sunlight activity. This issue, perhaps surprisingly, caught traction among the Sunderland fanbase.

Surely it’s not the biggest challenge for Stadium of Light management, yet it’s one that caught the attention and apparently has many people supporting the idea. It’s a simple one: Sunderland should replace those Stadium of Light seats that are faded.

The issue concerns lower north and east stands, where the sun operates strongly and resulted in seats fading. While the building is gradually receiving upgrades, these seats haven’t been replaced since it opened 19 years ago.

That’s why James Smallwood decided to launch a facebook page and online petition to raise the issue among Sunderland’s fanbase and it caught traction, partly thanks to interest from local media.

With almost 1,500 signatures as we’re writing this, the campaign is yet to receive official response from Sunderland.