Current and ex-players voice disgust at Sheffield Wednesday facility arson - official statement out with police hunt underway

A 3G training pitch at Jubilee Sports & Social Club on Claywheels Lane near Hillsborough is the centrepiece of a £1m upgrade to facilities and was fundraised for and is the community hub of Wednesday’s charitable arm the SWFC Community Trust.

Just 22 days on from its New Years Day opening and following years of hard work in getting the project off the ground and complete, vandals drove a car onto the pitch and set light to it for reasons unknown. Police are investigating the incident.

Among the many to have expressed their disappointment on social media since the incident are popular ex-Owl Daniel Pudil, who plays and coaches at the facility, and current club captain Barry Bannan, who posted: “This is a disgrace to do this to such a good place for the community hopefully we find out who it is and justice is served.”

An appeal for information from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue said that while they attend lots of ‘deliberate fires’, the incident ‘hit differently’.

The Star spoke with SWFCCP Head of Community Marcus Brameld, who described the events as ‘abhorrent’ and said it would take a six-figure sum to repair the damage caused.

A statement released by SWFCCP on Monday afternoon was one of sadness and read: “Everyone here at the Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme (SWFCCP) is devastated by events that transpired on Sunday evening at our brand-new Jubilee Sports Facility on Claywheels Lane.

“An abhorrent act of vandalism has seen a wonderful venue temporarily taken from the local community just three weeks after launch.

“Hundreds of people in the local community, from ages as young as three-years-old, have benefited from using the facility in the little time it has been open and we will not allow this crime to deter SWFCCP from delivering high quality community provision in the long term.

“In the short term, however, sessions at the facility will be operating at a reduced capacity until a time when the necessary repairs are complete.”

Anyone who has any information about the incident can contact SYF completely anonymously on 0800 169 5558.

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