Sheffield Wednesday set for European adventures with funky double friendly set up
Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed some of their pre-season plans.
The route towards Sheffield Wednesday’s monster rebuild effort in League One has become clearer after the club confirmed much of its pre-season programme for the 2026 summer - with two European training camps confirmed alongside an alternative friendly set-up over the Pennines
The Owls will enjoy their now customary trip to St George’s Park for six days of training from July 6, during which they’ll take on Championship side West Bromwich Albion in a behind-closed-doors friendly on the Saturday. Their next run-out will come also behind-closed-doors at Middlewood Road on July 18 when they welcome Preston North End.
From July 19, the Owls head abroad to take on a five-day training camp in Budapest before concluding their week in Vienna. It is not yet confirmed whether any friendly matches will take place during that trip.
All trips will be interspersed with training at Middlewood Road as Henrik Pedersen and his coaching team oversee a busy and intense preparation for a long campaign. The first confirmed matches open to the public will be on a busy Saturday August 1, when the club will split its squad for friendly matches at Accrington Stanley (12:30 kick-off) and then at Oldham Athletic (4pm kick-off).
The approach to the split friendly dates is one taken-up by many clubs in modern football and mirrors an approach taken by the Owls as far back as 2019, when the Wednesday squad was spread across run-outs at Stocksbridge Park Steels and Lincoln City in what proved to be Steve Bruce’s final appearance as Owls manager.
The opening weekend of Wednesday’s League One campaign is set for 14-16 August. However, the season will officially start with the Carabao Cup, with Round One of the competition taking place on 7-9 August. The Vertu Trophy will begin on the week commencing 21 September. League fixtures will be outlined on Thursday June 25.