Sheffield Wednesday Ladies are starting 2023 with a bang after moving some club activity to a brand-new facility.

Currently based at Sheffield Hallam Sports Park and Chaucer Tech College, the Owls will be relocating some sessions and games to the newly unveiled Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme (SWFCCP) site at Claywheels Lane.

Based on the site of the Jubilee Sports & Social Club, the new SWFCCP facility contains a full-size, state-of-the-art 3G pitch with floodlights, dugouts and more, plus upgraded dressing rooms and a renovated gym area.

The Owls marked the news with a taster session yesterday, allowing over 70 of the club’s young players an opportunity to try out the new pitch and facilities, plus meet up with friends after the recent Christmas break.

Sheffield Wednesday Ladies club Chair Dave Higgins said: “It’s a momentous day for the ladies section, the girls and for Sheffield Wednesday.

“We’d been asked earlier this year to be partners with this project, and we added our weight behind a campaign for them [SWFCCP] to get the funding in place, and what a fantastic facility it is.

“We were at other venues paying out lots of money, so we’d much rather give that money to Sheffield Wednesday. It’s a fantastic set up and a fantastic place to play.

“It’s about having Sheffield Wednesday Ladies playing and training at a Sheffield Wednesday facility, and that’s what we’ll be doing.”

From next week onwards, all junior training sessions will shift to the new Jubilee Club site, whilst a selection of the club’s junior games on a Saturday morning will also be held at the facility.

There are plans for the senior team to use the facility as well, with Mick Bigley’s side continuing their North East Regional Women’s Football League (NERWFL) Southern division campaign.

To make the Claywheels Lane project a reality, SWFCCP successfully secured a grant of £671,292 from the Premier League, The Football Association, and the Government’s Football Foundation, before gaining further support from the Football Foundation and County FA.

Further funds of £288,000 were secured from local and international software company WANdisco, Sheffield City Council, the EFL Trust and unrestricted reserves through the Community Programme itself.

Marcus Brameld, Head of Community at SWFC, said: “This project will only enhance our work in the local community.

“Having an in-house community facility has been a vision for many years. I would like to thank the numerous partners involved, together we have been able to provide a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Hillsborough that will benefit many adults and children for years to come.”

For more information on this story, please contact Dave Higgins, chairman@swlfc.co.uk