SEASON ticket sales at Sunderland are closing in on the 30,000 figure following last season's success. 

The club announced this morning that over 28,000 season tickets had been sold so far. With still over a month to go until the new season starts, Black Cats fans are racing to secure their seat at the Stadium of Light as they look forward to watching their team compete in the second tier of English football.

According to Transfermarkt, Sheffield United held the record for the highest home attendance in the Championship with an average of 27,611 fans. Sunderland look set to surpass that figure next season after ending their four year stay in League One.

The Black Cats secured promotion via the play-offs after beating Wycombe Wanderers in the final 2-0 thanks to goals from Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart.

The season is due to begin on the weekend of Saturday July 31st with the EFL fixtures due to be released later this month on Thursday 23rd June. Sunderland will return for pre-season training that week before heading out for a pre-season training camp in Portugal.