Sheffield Wednesday charity match shirts raise important funds for Owls Community Programme
The match-worn charity match shirts donned by Sheffield Wednesday’s class of 2016 have gone under the hammer.
The Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme has raised more than £3,500 after the shirts worn in the charity match celebrating the return of Carlos Carvalhal and some of his former players earlier this month went under the hammer.
The charismatic Portuguese chief returned to Hillsborough just over a fortnight ago to appear at a special charity evening and then a charity match the following day to mark the tenth anniversary of him taking Wednesday to the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
Although Wednesday’s first trip to the new Wembley ended in defeat, being edged out 1-0 by Hull City, the 2015/16 season is one that Owls supporters will always remember fondly. Carvalhal and his players allowed a fan base to dream again after years of frustration and disappointment.
To mark the ten-year anniversary, some of the players that made up the 2015/16 squad, alongside a handful of other former Wednesday figures, returned to S6 to participate in a special charity match.
Going up against Wednesday supporters who had raised a minimum of £1,000 to be involved, the former Owls stars made light work of their opposition, winning 24-3 in a fun-filled contest.
Steven Fletcher and Ross Wallace scored five goals apiece while Sam Hutchinson, Sam Winnall and Jordan Rhodes plundered hat-tricks. Kieran Lee (2), Keiren Westwood, Daniel Pudil and Giles Coke were also on the scoresheet.
Following the game, it was confirmed the shirts worn by the former Wednesday players would go up for auction to raise funds for the Wednesday Community Programme. Being listed on eBay, the shirts, each of which were signed by the individual player they belonged to, went under the hammer on Saturday, raising a total of £3,563.80.
Westwood’s goalkeeper shirt generated the most interest, being sold for £392.80, while Hutchinson’s went for £360. Liam Palmer’s and Lee Bullen’s shirts also proved to be popular, being sold for £280 apiece.
Fletcher, who stole the show with some excellent finishing, saw his shirt sell for £255. In total, 11 of the 15 shirts up for auction went for £200 or more.
Wednesday charity match shirt auction prices:
Keiren Westwood - £392.80
Sam Hutchinson - £360
Liam Palmer - £280
Lee Bullen - £280
Steven Fletcher - £255
Jack Hunt - £251
Tom Lees - £230
Glenn Loovens - £230
Ross Wallace - £220
Kieran Lee - £218
Jon-Paul McGovern - £200
Daniel Pudil - £190
Jordan Rhodes - £175
Giles Coke - £141
Sam Winnall - £141