It is not very often that Sheffield Wednesday are compared with Barcelona but today the Owls announced a move that compares favourably with the principles of the Catalan giants.
For the following two seasons Sheffield Wednesday are to forego major corporate shirt sponsorship in favour of a link up with Sheffield Children's Hospital and its associated charity.
The move is one that very few clubs have made, Barcelona being the stand out one as they have been linked with UNICEF to provide their support over the past few seasons, enhancing their club motto, which translates as "more than a club". Closer to home Aston Villa proudly portray the Acorns Children's Charity on their shirts.
The partnership is yet another step by the club to re-establish better links with the community while the nationally acclaimed hospital will look to raise awareness of its work and new initiatives through the link up with the football club.
Football has come under criticism recently for the amount of money being splashed within the game when many other industries and individuals are falling on hard times financially and so it is refreshing to see that the club is reaching out in this way.
Sheffield Wednesday are still heavily in debt but have been working on a business plan that will look to benefit from different revenue streams meaning that this form of sponsorship would not be a major source of income and the value of the partnership offers much more than monetary value would to the club.