"Just because we die, it doesn't mean we're no longer a supporter," Joanne Youngson said as Sunderland opened a permanent memorial garden on Saturday with supporters' group Heaven Branch. The walled space sits near the Stadium of Light's Jimmy Montgomery stand and has been expanded with a new lawn and new walling. It also includes a memorial bench for George Forster, the late chairman of the Sunderland Supporters' Association, known as the "supporter of the century."
George Forster's memorial bench
Youngson, who founded Heaven Branch, said: "George is there now forever to look over his beloved club." That is the centre of this story. The bench gives Forster a fixed place in the ground, and the club has turned a patch of remembrance into something permanent rather than temporary.
A version of the garden has existed in the stadium's car park since 2022, but this latest opening feels more settled. Supporters can lay pebbles to commemorate loved ones, spread ashes on the lawn, and join sessions where the group paints the pebbles about every four months.
Support that reaches beyond football
Youngson said the project reflects how much the club means across generations in the North East. "I think especially up in the North East, particularly Sunderland, the team means so much over generations," she said. "Just because we die, it doesn't mean we're no longer a supporter."
That idea sits behind the garden as much as the bench does. Sunderland's place in the city has always gone beyond results, and the memorial garden gives supporters somewhere they can return to when they want to remember someone properly.
The club finished 7th in the 2025 Premier League season with 54 points, but this is about a different kind of permanence. The garden near the Jimmy Montgomery stand is now open, and the bench for George Forster is part of it.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
