SUNDERLAND Football Club has gone "in-house" at the Stadium of Light to add a female voice to the running of the club.

Helen Smith has been appointed assistant club secretary, joining the growing number of women to take up key positions in the former male preserve of the professional football world.

Twenty-seven-year-old Helen has spent five years on the Sunderland staff, helping the club's rise in the domestic football scene, in conjunction with the switch from Roker Park to the state-of-the-art stadium.

In her new role, Helen will have responsibility for handling a wide range of team issues, including players' contracts, and administration of Sunderland's new academy.

Chief executive, John Fickling, said the club was "delighted" to promote Helen to what he regards as "a very significant post".

Helen said: "It's tremendous to be given the opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the club's future progress."

She added that it was an exciting time to take up her new post, with the stadium expansion to a 48,300-capacity well on course, with the academy developing at Whitburn Moor, and with Sunderland forming part of England's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup.