Academy is the collective name for the youth development squads of Sunderland Association Football Club, primarily the U18 and U21 teams.

Sunderland have an 'Elite' Category 1 football academy based on the Elite Player Performance Plan and their teams are members of the Professional Development League.

At least three U21 games per season are played at Stadium of Light as per the rules of the Professional Development League.

[3] Numerous notable professional players have graduated from Sunderland's youth system over the years.

[6] The 'A' team won the inaugural Alliance in 1891 and dominated the early years of the league, winning five out of the first six seasons.

[8] In 1906 they joined the new North Eastern League along with reserve teams from Newcastle United, Middlesbrough and Bradford City.

Sunderland won the Central League once, in the 1998–99 season under the management of Adrian Heath.

In that season, a crowd of 33,513 at the Stadium of Light watched Sunderland Reserves beat Liverpool 1-0 - an all-time record attendance for the Central League.

The Sunderland side included Jordan Henderson, Jack Colback and Martyn Waghorn.

By 2009, the winners of the North and South sections had a play-off to determine a 'National Champion'; Sunderland lost the final to Aston Villa.

In 2002, the Academy of Light was completed and inauguration took place with England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.

[19] The Academy was a state-of-the-art £15m facility in South Tyneside, which doubled as the training location for the senior team.

[24] The Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) was introduced in 2011 and restructured the way youth development operated in England.

[25] Academies were graded into tiers, based on a variety of factors, including the quality of the facilities available.

They finished fifth in the 2020–21 season, beat Stoke City in the play-off semi-final, but lost on penalties to Crystal Palace in the final after a 0-0 draw.

In the 2016–17 competition, Sunderland qualified from their group after victories over Hartlepool United and Notts County but were beaten in the first knockout stage by the academy of Wolves.

Following the promotion of the senior team via the League One Play-off to the EFL Championship the format was changed from U23s to U21s and now allows U21s matchday squads to include up to five outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21; this may include players from the senior team in need of game time.

[29] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.