Premiership: Fans given chance to sign for Sunderland

Sunderland are offering fans the chance to sign for the club for one season.

The winner will be given a squad number, train with the players, travel to an away game on the team coach and have their own column in a daily newspaper.

The competition, One of the Lads, is the first of its kind in British football and is open to all fans - regardless of their allegiances - to mark the re-launch of safc.com, Sunderland's official web site.

The eventual winner will be decided by a Big Brother-style competition.

Fans will be given the chance to get to know the seven finalists and vote them out one by one. One finalist will be eliminated each day until the competition is down to the last two.

The two remaining finalists will then go head-to-head at the Stadium of Light for a showdown during half-time of the Sunderland versus Blackburn Premiership clash on September 8 in front of nearly 50,000 supporters.

Throughout the season, the winner will gain a unique insight into the life of a Premiership player. Each month the successful entrant will take part in a series of events usually reserved for the privileged few.

The club will even print autograph cards featuring the winner's name and picture.

Fans can nominate themselves, a member of their family or a friend. The closing date for entries is August 27. See safc.com for details.