Please visit the Branch Liaison Council's official website here - https://safcblc.com/
The history of the Sunderland AFC Branch Liaison Council
In the early 1970’s at Roker Park, supporter branches and fellow like-minded supporters would meet prior to and after fixtures.
These meetings sometimes would involve meeting with visiting supporters and arranging social event including football quiz, darts, domino and pool competitions. This was the beginning of what is now the SAFC Branch Liaison Council (BLC).
As chair of Sunderland AFC, Sir Bob Murray wanted to forge a closer relationship with supporters, whilst giving a platform to raise supporter concerns. Sir Bob Murray instigated regular meetings between BLC representatives and SAFC, that continue to the current day.
The present Sunderland AFC Branch Liaison Council
In addition to meeting with fellow branch members and SAFC, the Branch Liaison Council is pro-active in raising funds for charities.
The Branch Liaison Council and individual branches hold events throughout the season to raise funds that are shared between two charities, one charity being The Foundation of Light, the second being a charity nominated by and voted on by BLC members at the BLC AGM.
The BLC has supported the Foundation of Light from Sir Bob Murray’s vision by donating more than £30,000. We are proud to support the Foundation and hope to keep the relationship going for many years to come.
We currently have 40 branches in the UK and overseas and reach of more than 660,000 supporters worldwide via social media.
Our individual branches run cost effective transport to both home and away fixtures . During the 2018-19 season, we transported more than 18,000 supporters to away fixtures (this includes Wembley figures).
The BLC are members of the Sunderland Supporters Collective and together with other Supporters groups meet with the club owners and senior management at least twice a year.