Sunderland City are a rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 team based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. They play in the North East Premier division of the Rugby League Conference

Rugby League Conference

The Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...

.

History

Sunderland City joined the newly created North East Division of the Rugby League Conference

Rugby League Conference

The Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...

 in the 2001 season.

They joined the new North Premier Division for 2005 but dropped down to the North Division in 2006 competing as Sunderland Nissan.

They returned to the North Premier Division for the 2007 and 2008 summer seasons but in 2009 the North Premier was divided into the North West Premier and the Yorkshire Premier and Sunderland joined the North East Division again reverting back to Sunderland City.

Sunderland joined the newly formed North East Premier in 2011.