Fulwell73 boss Leo Pearlman describes his pride at new Sunderland AFC board role

Leo Perman says he 'can't imagine a greater honour or privilege' than to be asked to join the board of his beloved Sunderland AFC.

The co-founder and managing director at the hugely successful Fulwell73 production company was on Wearside as part of an event for the Sunderland Business Festival today, Thursday, October 12, when we revealed he had been asked to take a place as non-executive director at the Stadium of Light.

.Leo, whose company is named after the Ful is a lidfe-long Sunderland fan and well end at Roker Park and the club's magnificent 1973 FA cup win acted as an executive producer on the Sunderland 'Til I Die documentary, which streamed on Netflix

Fullwell73 is currently working closely with Cain International to bring a film studio to the banks of the River Wear, potentially creating around 8,450 jobs in the region.

"To be able to contribute in any small way to the continued success is truly, truly a dream come true."Leo, who describes himself as a fan from before birth - "I wasn't given a choice in the matter" - shared his earliest memory of supporting the Black Cats 'which was, in true Sunderland fashion, a crushing defeat'.

"I don't remember the score or the scorers, I just remember being quite upset, which is a feeling that, as a Sunderland fan, you get used to and yet you keep on coming back for more,"" he said.

"I can't quite believe the fact that I am getting to join the club that I have loved and supported for over 40 years and to be able to contribute to it in some small way."

And he paid tribute to the success of the new regime at the Stadium of Light under chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus: "I think what the new ownership have done over the last few years is quite remarkable, the turn-around we have seen on and off the pitch."

Asked how he would be contributing , he said: "I have offered to play myself up front in the coming gmaes, that has been turned down, so I guess we will see in a month or two."