Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League has delivered a significant financial boost to the club’s award-winning charity arm, with Sir Bob Murray confirming that the Foundation of Light and Beacon of Light will benefit from an initial £300,000 uplift.

In an exclusive interview with The Echo, the former Sunderland chairman revealed that promotion has opened up vital new funding streams that will directly support life-changing work across Wearside. “Sadly, it’s needed as much today as it’s ever been needed,” Murray said. “We’re getting 7,000 people a week through it. We’re doing really well. We’ll get £350,000 more next year because we’re in the Premier League.”

Even more support could be on the horizon if Sunderland manage to stay in the top flight. “When we stay up, we’ll get £500,000 a year extra because we’re promoted,” he explained. “So we’re very grateful for that. But sadly, we’ve got so much important work to do for people, most of them just need a little help in life and some support around them.”