ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico United announced on Monday that they will play host to a legendary English club, Sunderland AFC, in an international friendly/exhibition on July 19th, at Isotopes Park. The Black Cats are one of England’s most-decorated clubs, having won the top flight title six times, and the FA Cup twice, and they have also gained international recognition with the Netflix show “Sunderland Til I Die”.

“We were looking for something unique and different. So, middle of last year we started reaching out to clubs and we were able to locate a potential club that was looking to do a US tour, which was Sunderland. Myself being a big fan of the Netflix show, which I know a lot of people have seen. I thought, this could be a great thing to do for New Mexico United”, said NM United Chief Business Officer, Ron Patel.

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New Mexico United worked for months to get this match in place, and unlike their 2019 friendly with Cardiff City F.C., which was played at the UNM Soccer complex, this match will be played at Isotopes Park. A big crowd is expected with fans from England, even looking to make the trip. The popularity of Sunderland makes this match huge for New Mexico United, but the club also looks to learn a lot from this exhibition.

“We want to be a club that is here for a hundred years, Sunderland has done that and then some. If you want to talk about a club to take an example from, a club to learn from, and not just thier longevity but the passion of their fans, they do everything right. We are going to learn so much from them while they are here and we hope to beat them on the pitch”, said NM United Director of Communications & Fan Experience, David Wiese-Carl.

Tickets for this match will go on sale to the general public on March 17th.