Opinion: Why Sheffield Wednesday need to reconsider and give the fans Owls In The Park

Owls in the Park is the event Wednesday fans look for every summer – with there being no football in the summer, it’s the closest us fans get to our club before the whirlwind of a season kicks off again a month later.

It is a chance for the squad and the manager to connect with the fans on a new level, and also a fantastic opportunity for any new additions to the club to see the brilliant support and be introduced properly to the club.

Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t be getting this chance this summer, with Wednesday cancelling the event due to Covid concerns around the squad.

Realistically, the reasoning does make sense. With the struggles Darren Moore himself went through with Covid and the outbreak of Covid that unsettled the squad last season, it makes sense to not risk it again.

However, Wednesday fans have been deprived of Owls in the Park for the past two years now due to the virus, and it can now easily become a forgotten event if it is cancelled for a third year running.

This is why I think it is paramount that the club reconsider their stance on the event this year and give the fans what they want this summer.

It is surely possible to run the event with caution and safety measures in place to reduce the risk of the team getting Covid. Maybe they could run the event like normal but with a few changes that, while potentially ruining some key features of the event, still means the fans get the majority of what we have come to love since a decade a go.

Possibly the squad could be present to give speeches and introduce new additions on stage, but reduce or scrap opportunity for photos and autographs.

Whilst I fully understand the club’s reasons for abandoning the event this year, they must re-think their stance on this and plan out an event that is as close to the normal as possible whilst reducing the risk of Covid being spread – that way everyone wins.