Sunderland podcasters Wise Men Say launch special edition promotion magazine with proceeds to charity

The 48-page full-colour magazine will serve as a souvenir following the club’s first-ever play-off final victory which ended a four-year stay in League One.

‘Goodbye To League One’ will feature fans’ accounts of the trip to Wembley and a review of all of the highs and lows from Sunderland’s time in the third tier of English football.

The magazine will be on sale at the podcast’s sold-out promotion party at POP Recs on Saturday, June 18, with all proceeds being donated to the Foundation of Light, the football club’s official charity.

It is the latest step in the development of the podcast, which also produces feature-length articles focusing on club news, opinions and analysis on its website.

Wise Men Say has followed the club’s exploits in the Premier League and all the way down to League One, and has become a must-listen for Sunderland fans around the world, with three shows a week.

The podcast started life in 2013, and has achieved more than 2million downloads, and is consistently ranked in the top 75 of UK sports podcasts, rubbing shoulders with giants of the genre including The Football Ramble and That Peter Crouch Podcast.

In November 2021, Wise Men Say was nominated for a prestigious Football Supporters’ Association award following a season played entirely behind closed doors, where the podcast produced special episodes during the coronavirus lockdown of 2020.

Wise Men Say co-founder Gareth Barker said: “ “When we started Wise Men Say I don’t think we ever thought we’d discuss Sunderland being in League One for a single season, never mind four.

“This magazine gives us the opportunity to commemorate our first promotion in 15 years, celebrate our first victory at Wembley in front of supporters in 49 years and simply laugh at what was the worst period in our history. Now let us never return to that godforsaken division again.”

The magazine costs £3 and will be available on the night at POP Recs, or through the website either physically or digitally. For more information, visit wisemensay.co.uk.