The Newcastle Sunderland rivalry is famous. There are numerous ideas of where it comes from, whether it be conflicts over coal mining and the shipping industry, or the historic football derbies.

Two young Journalists from Headliners, Ava and Laila, discussed their different experiences of living in each city. 

Ava used to live in Sunderland but moved to Newcastle with her family when she was 11. “I love Sunderland. My Nana and all of my Uncles and cousins still live there, as do loads of my friends. I don’t think I really knew much about the rivalry until I moved because everyone else never made a big deal of it.

“I remember my Uncle kept saying things like ‘are you sure you want to move there?’ and my Dad would get annoyed at him. My friends never really said anything, they were sad I was leaving school. It felt like Newcastle was really far away but it actually really isn’t.”

Laila’s whole family are from Newcastle, it is the only place she has ever known. “My family are all football mad. My impression of Sunderland was always that it wasn’t a nice place. My family always spoke about Sunderland being really bad, it had loads of problems and everyone there hated people from Newcastle.

“It always felt so far away too, like it was in another country.”

Other young people Ava and Laila interviewed were also aware of the rivalry. Jazmine, 15, from Sunderland said: “I think that people from Newcastle sometimes look down on Sunderland and it can go beyond football. 

“I’ve had some people say some horrible things to me because I’m from Sunderland. It’s normally older people or people that are really into football. They make out like Sunderland is the worst place on earth but it’s really not. Most of them have never actually been to Sunderland before.”

Katy, 16, from Newcastle agrees. “I’ve never been to Sunderland but my Grandad is always really negative about it,” she says. “He makes out that it’s awful. 

“But then when I speak to other people about it they say it’s nice. I want to go to Uni in Sunderland. I have looked at it online and it looks really nice.”

The first time Ava was really aware of the divide was on her first day at her new school in Newcastle. “All the other young people were really friendly with me. On my first day, I was talking to the others on my table. They were asking where I came from and I said Sunderland. 

“The teacher overheard and he started making comments like ‘oh you’re a Mackem aren’t you?’ and ‘I’ll be counting all my pens now we have a Mackem in the room.’ It was so awkward!”

When Ava asked Laila if she wanted to spend a weekend at her Nana’s house in Sunderland, she initially felt anxious. “I wanted to go because she is my friend,” she said. “When I asked my parents if I could go they were worried because they thought Sunderland was rough. They were telling me to watch my pockets in case people stole my phone.

“It really worried me and I almost didn’t go because they scared me. I didn’t say anything to Ava because I thought it would upset her.”

Like with Ava’s teacher and Laila’s parents, other adults  are much more bothered about the rivalry. 

John, 55, from Newcastle said: “Newcastle has always come before Sunderland and they can’t stand that. I love winding up the Mackems. They just wish they were us.”

“It’s an age-old thing,” said Johnny, 62, from Sunderland. “We don’t like them and they don’t like us. Geordies go around thinking they can behave like hooligans and they don’t respect anything.

“In Sunderland we enjoy football. We enjoy banter but we know how to behave like gentlemen when it comes to everything else and that’s something they lack!”

However, Laila’s experience of Sunderland was not what she anticipated. “I’m so glad we went because we had such a great time. Her Nana lives so close to the beach and there’s loads of stuff to do around there, lots of nice cafés and parks. 

“The city centre is less busy than Newcastle and I felt safer. There were less people causing problems.” 

Laila’s perspective has changed so much she would consider living there. “I might go to University there or move when I’m older. It has a really good atmosphere and everyone is so nice. Even though I’ll always support Newcastle!” 

“I never told people where I was from for a while,” said Ava, “not because of coming from Sunderland, just because I didn’t want to be different from anyone. 

“But more recently I have just been open because I love being from Sunderland and I love living in Newcastle. Both cities have great things about them.”

The rivalry has clearly become less of an issue for young people. Lily, 15, from Newcastle, doesn’t think it’s an issue anymore. “Everyone just needs to get on.”

Jake, 12, also from Newcastle, agrees. “A lot of my friends are from Sunderland. They are really nice and it doesn’t feel weird even though we are meant to be rivals.”

Alisha, 16, is from South Shields, which is in the middle of both cities. “I like both places. Sunderland has the friendlier people, the nice beaches and parks but Newcastle has an amazing city and they are doing better at football.

“Half my friends support Newcastle and half support Sunderland and we all get on. I support Liverpool so it all just doesn’t bother me.”

If the Newcastle Sunderland rivalry is becoming less of an issue for young people, then it may one day become a thing of the past, or only be associated with football. The region should be working together as a whole to support one another.  

This Story was written by two young journalists as part of Headliners Young Journalist Programme. This work would not be possible without the support of The Million Hours Fund.