Sheffield Wednesday set for major off-pitch boost | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday's new owners have continued their investment into the club

Sheffield Wednesday are preparing for life in League One after coming bottom of the Championship table last season.

The Owls are under new ownership after Arise Capital completed their takeover of the club at the beginning of May.

The previous owner Dejphon Chansiri oversaw significant financial issues, which led to the Yorkshire outfit going into administration.

But Henrik Pedersen is in the process of rebuilding the first team squad alongside the new sporting director Simon Wilson.

Arise Capital will be hoping that their investment in the side will lead to a more competitive season ahead.

However, more investment will also be needed behind the scenes to ensure that Sheffield Wednesday can get back to where they were in years gone by.

Sheffield Wednesday secure academy status

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It has been reported by The Wednesday Word that Sheffield Wednesday have been able to retain their Category Two status for their academy system.

There were fears that the issues behind the scenes at Hillsborough could lead to the club dropping to a Category Three academy.

However, initial investments from the new ownership have managed to salvage their position as a Category Two.

It’s believed that the group led by David Storch have spent heavily on upgrading their facilities at Middlewood Road.

It’s also understood that the club’s new collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park has helped ease the concerns with the Owls’ training ground pitches.

Arise Capital have sanctioned the process of building a new gym at the training ground, while retaining the Category Two academy will ensure that there is a wider catchment area available for players to join.

This will come as a big boost to the club in the long-term, as it will lead to a wider pool of players joining the academy system.

How Sheffield Wednesday fans feel about academy investment

Sheffield Wednesday fans are supportive of Arise Capital’s investment in the academy system, suggesting it’s necessary for the club to become successful.

The retention of the Category Two status has been welcomed warmly by supporters.

And Arise Capital have been encouraged to keep investing in the academy, as it is a better use of resources than signing players who can’t contribute to the first team squad.

Sheffield Wednesday return to league action when the new League One season gets underway on 15 August when they face Leyton Orient.

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Investment in the academy system is huge for Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday pride themselves on being able to produce their own talent from the academy system, so dropping to Category Three would have been a real blow for their reputation.

So Arise Capital have put their money where their mouth is by ensuring that the club at least retains Category Two for the time being.

More investment will be needed in the long-term to get their facilities and reputation back where they were in the past.

But this is a strong statement of intent from Arise Capital, who continue to make a lot of right moves since taking over the League One side earlier this year.