Why Sunderland won't play any pre-season friendlies at the Stadium of Light as summer plans are announced
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The Black Cats squad will now have some time off after beating Wycombe in the League One play-off final, before returning to the Academy of Light for testing on June 22.
Sunderland will then play a set of behind-closed-doors fixtures before heading to Portugal in July, when they will have two fixtures abroad.
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Hide AdWhen they return to Wearside, the Black Cats plan to arrange four domestic fixtures before the start of the Championship season on July 30 - yet friendly matches will be played away from the Stadium of Light due to concerts taking place.
The EFL season is set to start earlier than usual because of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Sunderland have announced that further information on pre-season friendly fixtures will be announced in due course.