Sunderland v Newcastle United derby – Official ‘bubble match’ update | OneFootball

The Sunderland v Newcastle derby match is seven weeks on Sunday, a 2pm kick-off on Sunday 14 December 2025.

Tomorrow (25 October 2025) marks exactly ten years since the last Wear-Tyne derby in the Premier League.

January 2024 did of course see an FA Cup match down there, Sunderland v Newcastle, with an easy 3-0 victory for United.

That derby match was notable for a number of reasons, not least that it became a ‘bubble match’ for all Newcastle United fans. Having to travel on organised transport, rather than able to choose how to travel to Wearside.

I assumed that after they did the ‘bubble’ thing last time for that FA Cup match, that it would be automatically enforced for all future ones, whether the fans liked it or now.

However, apparently not.

Thankfully, there are no plans for the Sunderland v Newcastle match on Sunday 14 December, to make it a ‘bubble match’ for United fans travelling.

The minutes of the latest Supporter Collective Meeting (where Sunderland fans meet senior club officials) has revealed this to be the case. With the minutes stating:

‘The upcoming fixture versus Newcastle United was discussed. Confirmed there are no plans for the fixture to be a ‘bubble match’ at this stage, so away supporters will be free to choose how they travel to the Stadium of Light. There are challenges as the footprint of the Stadium or Light has changed in recent months, and the Club is working closely with the police and fan representatives to make sure it’s a safe experience for all supporters.’

Having a look through the minutes of that meeting where Sunderland fans met club officials, I thought there were a few other things that might interest you. My comments are in brackets after each topic.

The Club mentioned that kit prices were held for another year and offered the lowest in the PL.

(***I went and checked and sure enough, whilst Newcastle United are charging £85 for an adult replica shirt, Sunderland replica shirts for adults are £60)

Season tickets:

Season tickets sold out for the first time in the Club’s history following promotion to the PL. There is now an ever-growing waiting list.

(***First EVER time?!!!)

Ticket resale:

It was raised that there is interest in a service where season ticket holders can re-sell their match day tickets if they are unable to attend. It was confirmed that testing on the new system is due to take place to make this possible.

(***I thought all Premier League clubs already did this?)

Stadium expansion:

Asked when the Club would consider stadium expansion.

Confirmed that the Club has explored this and the opportunities available, the club wish to ensure that the stadium is fit for purpose and enables us to compete.