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For the first time since the national team faced Turkey in 2003 the Stadium of Light will host an England senior international football game.
It was a direct choice between the Stadium of Light and Newcastle's St James Park and FA decision-makers opted to select Wearside as the destination for the post-season friendly. FA officials visited the Stadium of Light around a month ago, and although the venue was confirmed some weeks ago an official announcement has not yet been made.
Sunderland supporters are not expected to receive any priority in regards to ticket allocation, which means anyone wishing to attend the game will have to apply through the conventional methods that are in place for every England game.
It's a huge coup for the club and for the city, with England going back on the road for the first time since the new Wembley Stadium was opened in 2007.
The Stadium of Light has proven itself as the place to be when it comes to big events in the North East and though it can often be leveled at the club that we don't get things right on the pitch, we certainly do alright off it.
The Stadium of Light has played host to England international games twice since opening in 1997.
The first was a 2-1 friendly win for England against Belgium in October of 1999, when Kevin Phillips started the game up front in front of his home crowd, and the second was a 2-0 Euro 2004 qualifier win over Turkey in April of 2003, where goals from Darius Vassell and David Beckham gave the Stadium of Light one of the greatest nights in it's history.
