The club's stock listing will be cancelled on 5 August

The directors of Sunderland plc said there was little potential in the foreseeable future for raising further capital on the stock exchange.

Share prices in most football clubs have plunged since they were floated on the market in the 1990s.

The company's listing with the UK Listing Authority will be cancelled with effect from 5 August.

'Some form of market'

Vinay Bedi, director at Wise Speke stockbrokers in Newcastle, says people who still own shares in the club will be able to sell them.

He said: "Buying and selling will still exist on a matched bargain basis.

"That means if someone wants to sell 100 shares, and there is an interested buyer, then the deal will be done at an agreed price.

"There will be some form of market there, but nothing like the one that is in existence at the moment."

'Not a shrewd investment'

Sunderland AFC were relegated from the Premiership in April 2003.

Neil Harrison, a Sunderland shareholder, admitted that he and many fans had lost money on the club's shares.

He said: "I wouldn't say it was one of my most shrewd investments, put it that way.

"Most people bought the minimum amount of shares when the company was floated to have some kind of say in the club.

"We didn't buy for investment. If you didn't sell your shares after six months you were never going to make any money."