Sunderland celebrate new partnership with Nelson Mandela Day events There will be commemorative flags, the players will warm up in Mandela T-shirts, the mascots will wear specially designed kit. Plus a collective of drummers from Burundi will whip up a rhythmic storm. "This is an honour," said David Miliband, Sunderland's vice-chairman of the agreement. A validation of what we're trying to do as a club. The Mandela Foundation had been looking for a partnership with a Premier League club for some time, hoping to use its global prominence to deliver its messages of education and social inclusion. It alighted on Wearside because the work of the Sunderland Foundation neatly dovetailed with its own. Plus, unlike several of their rivals, Sunderland asked for nothing in return. Not even Mandela's signature across a first-team shirt. "The Premier League is one of the leading cultural exports of any country anywhere in the world," said Miliband, who, when he was Foreign Secretary says he became used to fielding questions from overseas politicians about its nuances. And we at Sunderland have experience of how we use sport to deliver. We're hoping from this partnership we'll learn from them and get better. We've had a big push into Africa with our shirt sponsorship [the players wear Invest in Africa across their chests]. This is the ultimate rocket boost. This is about Sunderland in Africa. Miliband is so convinced of football's importance that he will retain his position at Sunderland even after he has moved to New York for his new job as chief executive of the International Rescue Committee. "Football is so immediate," he says. It is about action, competition, excellence, it has a rallying potential that is very profound. It's not a substitute for politics, but it can do great things in its own right. And he envisages great things ahead from this new partnership. "It's about recognising that we are a better society if private institutions recognise their public role," he said. One thing we're not saying, though, is that anyone who scores a goal against Sunderland is committing a sin against Mandela.