Sun, Sea & SAFC Women - The summer of football heats up at Seaburn this Monday evening!

There’s a heat wave rolling into England over the weekend, and temperatures in Sunderland are predicted to reach a balmy 25 degrees celsius. With the sun out, Seaburn beach will be a magnet for the good people of the city looking to cool down and enjoy a lovely summer evening down the seafront.

On Monday evening players from Sunderland AFC Women’s squad will be down on the sands holding an open training session from 6.15pm. There will be opportunities for youngsters to join in with some of the drills and watch the Lasses demonstrate their samba football skills with the beautiful Costa Del Sunderland as the backdrop.

It’s a great opportunity for kids who’ve been inspired by the opening games of the Euros to kick a ball around to get some tips from the new generation coming off the Sunderland talent production line - a youth system that has produced England stars like Beth Mead and Lucy Bronze.

Then afterwards the team will de-camp to STACK Seaburn for a meet and greet with supporters from 7.15pm, before they watch the Lionesses take on Norway in the crucial game in Group A of Euro 2022 on the big screens.

The England game kicks off at 8pm, and all the venue’s eateries and bars will be open to supporters to enjoy all evening.

Ant and I spoke to the club’s Supporter Liaison Officer, Chris Waters, yesterday, and he told us that they’re keen to get as many Sunderland fans down to the kick-about as possible.

Waters explained that the event is part of a drive to encourage families to purchase Eppleton CW Season Cards and remind everyone that SAFC Ladies and Under-23 home league fixtures are included as benefits in the 2022-23 Stadium of Light season card.

Our Ant will be down at the event on Monday evening there chatting with some of the players, and we’ll bring you their thoughts on the Lionesses and the new season in a Roker Report - The Lasses podcast later in the week.

Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images

Sunderland Women’s Barclay’s Women’s Championship fixture list was released on Friday morning, with the Lasses opening their campaign with a short trip up the A690 to local rivals Durham WFC on Sunday 21st August. Tickets for this game are on sale now on the Durham website.

The first home match is a week later against Birmingham City, the side coached by former Lads loanee Darren Carter who knocked Sunderland out of the FA Cup in January but were relegated from the top flight in May.