At last: something to unite Sunderland and Newcastle supporters

Courtsey of Yahoo, Salut! Sunderland has been chosen to invite fans from across the two-rivers divide to try their luck in a competition with an unusual prize …

All the silly banter – and yes, it goes both ways – shown in the previous posting cannot disguise the fact that for all our differences, especially with regard to how we see ourselves in the footballing hierarchy, Sunderland and Newcastle supporters have plenty in common.

We generally have friends or even relatives across the Wear-Tyne divide and all but the most neanderthal of us get on with them perfectly well.

And sometimes a Mackem will work, maybe quite closely, with a Mag – again without coming to blows or insults as the only way to handle manage communication.

None of that precludes humour and rivalry in the relationships. And what better for one to be able to say to the other: “Guess what, I’ve just won every Monday off for months to come and they want you to do my share of the work as well as yours.”

Of course it wouldn’t work quite like that.

But in an internet competition, Yahoo! Your Goals, in which Salut! Sunderland is one of an “exclusive” band of football sites to be chosen to take part, the prize – which would become the subject of agreement between winner and employer – is indeed every Monday off for the football season. As the organisers put it, a chance to “wake up fresh wanting to rewatch the highlights of that victory – or hide away after that terrible defeat”.

The only way to enter is via the following link: http://ad-emea.doubleclick.net/clk;244608813;68513734;m?http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/your-goals.html

If you win, and the boss isn’t keen on being compensated for your weekly absences, you get the cash equivalent. Whoever you support.

The closing date for entry is Aug 26 so the forthcoming derby gives us an opportunity to invite Sunderland and Newcastle followers alike – and indeed any neutrals who have strayed into the site – to have a go.

Over to Yahoo: “All football fans have to do to enter the competition, and give themselves a chance of winning this amazing prize, is to sign up to the Yahoo! Your Goals newsletter. Even if they don’t win they’ll get Premier League highlights straight to their inbox every Monday morning.

Here are the details:

• The closing date of the competition is 23:59 hours (UK time) on the 26th August 2011.

• Yahoo! will select one winner at random from amongst the complete entries on August 30th 2011.

• For the prize Yahoo! will cover the cost to the winner’s employer of half a day off work. Yahoo! will contact the winner’s employer and offer the employer the cash equivalent of 0.5 days per week off work of the winner’s salary from 15th August 2011 to 21st May 2012.

• If the winner’s employer chooses not to allow the winner to take Monday mornings off work, then Yahoo! will give the winner the cash equivalent. The contribution prize is capped at £5k (subject to availability).

• To enter you must be over 16 and a resident of the UK. Only one entry per person is permitted.

• Full Terms and Conditions can be found here: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/yourgoals_tandc.html

Good luck.

* This post is sponsored by Yahoo.