West Ham United F.C. supporters are the followers of the London-based West Ham United Football Club, who were founded as Thames Ironworks in 1895. There are 700,000 fans on the club's database and over 2,300,000 likes on Facebook. [1] The club's website is in the top ten most visited websites for English football clubs by people in the USA. [2] Their fans are also associated with a once-notorious hooligan element [3] and have long-standing rivalries with several other clubs, most notably Millwall.
West Ham have a larger than average number of male fans. [4]
West Ham is the only club in the borough of Newham and a majority of fans in the borough support West Ham. [1] Their home match average attendance over the last six seasons was in excess of 33,000 per season [5] and despite finishing in bottom place in the Premier League for the 2010–11 season, their home attendance averaged 33,426, eleventh highest of all Premier League clubs. [6] Traditionally, West Ham fans are drawn from London (in particular East London) and the home counties, especially Essex; however, there are fans clubs around the world, notably in New York City, [7] Barcelona, [8] Tenerife, [9] Serbia, [10] Australia, New Zealand, [11] and Scandinavia, which has over 800 members. [12]
In addition to the usual English football chants, West Ham fans sing "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles". [13] The song is considered to be the club's anthem. [14] Songs and chants have also been created and sung for players, notably Paolo Di Canio, [15] Christian Dailly, [16] Bobby Zamora, [17] Frank Lampard [17] Pop Robson, Dimitri Payet and Luděk Mikloško [18]
West Ham fans have identified several players over the years as being 'fans favourites', notably Paolo Di Canio, [19] Bobby Moore, [20] Julian Dicks [21] and Carlos Tevez. [22]
West Ham fans have also displayed a zeal for abusing former players who are perceived to have abandoned the club, or performed some disservice. Famously Dimitri Payet as well as Paul Ince, [23] Frank Lampard, [24] Jermain Defoe, [25] and Nigel Reo-Coker [26] have borne the brunt of verbal abuse and a hostile reception at Upton Park and now London Stadium. However, players such as Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, [27] Bobby Zamora and Carlos Tévez [28] receive applause and even standing ovations in honour of their contributions for the club.
West Ham fans' longest-running and deepest rivalry is with Millwall fans [29] with both sets of supporters considering the other as their main rival. [30]
The rivalry between Millwall and West Ham has always been a fierce encounter, from the first meeting – a 'friendly' on 23 September 1897, which the newly formed Thames Ironworks (not yet known as West Ham) lost 2–0 – up until their most recent meeting in a Championship clash in February 2012.
On 17 September 1906 in a Western League game, a particularly ferocious encounter saw one player hurled against a metal advertising board and others being stretchered off following heavy tackles. The East Ham Echo reported: "From the very first kick of the ball it was seen likely to be some trouble, but the storm burst when Dean and Jarvis came into collision (Millwall had two players sent off during the match). This aroused considerable excitement among the spectators. The crowds on the bank having caught the fever, free fights were plentiful." [31]
In 1926 the General Strike was observed by workers in the East End, who were mainly West Ham supporters, but the Millwall-supporting shipyard workers of the Isle of Dogs refused to lend their support, provoking mass outrage.
In 1972, a testimonial for Millwall defender Harry Cripps was marred by intense fighting between the two club's "firms", groups of hooligans intent on violence.
Four years later, a Millwall supporter, Ian Pratt, died at New Cross station [33] after falling out of a train during a fight with West Ham fans. Leaflets were later distributed at Millwall's home matches bearing the words: "A West Ham fan must die to avenge him". [34]
During a League Cup game on 25 August 2009, violent clashes transpired between the two sets of supporters' outside Upton Park. Police estimated hundreds of fans were involved. Millwall supporter Alan Baker [35] was stabbed and left fighting for his life. [36] [37] The pitch was invaded three times by West Ham supporters, causing play to be suspended. [38] The Football Association charged both clubs, investigated the aftermath and eventually fined West Ham £115,000. They were found to have failed to ensure their fans refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour and from entering the field of play. Millwall were cleared of all charges. [39]
Violence among fans at matches between the two clubs can become so intense that there have been calls to never again allow games between the two in cup competitions and that any future league games be played behind closed doors. [40]
Matches against other London sides, such as Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are also derbies and violence has occurred between fans although the rivalry is not as intense as that between West Ham and Millwall. [41] [42]
West Ham's ground is currently in Stratford, East London. Previously they played at the Boleyn Ground, near the junction of Green Street and the Barking Road in Newham. At the junction is the Boleyn public house, traditionally used by West Ham fans on match days. Visiting fans have been made unwelcome and violence has occurred in this area. [43] Due to its proximity to the ground and its use by West Ham fans, the pub has often been boarded-up before and after games with clubs who have a rivalry with West Ham. [44] West Ham fans also used the Greengate, Wine Bar and Village pubs on Barking Road and the Duke of Edinburgh pub at the junction of Green Street and Plashet Grove. [45]
Starting in the late 1980s there have been many fanzines aimed at West Ham fans. These have included The Cockney Pride, The EastEnd Connection, The Loyal Supporter, UTD United, The Boleyn Scorcher, Never Mind the Boleyn, Forever Blowing Bubbles, Ultimate Truth, We Ate All the Pies, Fortunes Always Hiding, The Ultimate Dream, On a Mission From God, The Water in Majorca, On the Terraces and Over Land and Sea. [46]
A YouGov poll from 2014 found that West Ham supporters lean right politically. [47] However, Stratford, where the club is based, is a left-wing area that traditionally votes Labour (but has an increasing vote for the Green Party), however 39% of the club's fans are based in the East of England, which predominantly votes for the Conservative Party. [48]
Certain factions of West Ham's supporters have a tradition of violence and hooliganism. [43] Their former ground, Upton Park, has also witnessed racism amongst fans and here football hooliganism originated amongst bovver boys in the 1960s. [49] Sympathisers of the National Front handed out National Front leaflets outside Upton Park, particularly following the launch of the National Front youth newspaper Bulldog in 1977, and successfully sold club memorabilia carrying 'NF' slogans and motifs. [50]
The origins of West Ham's links with organised football-related violence started in the 1960s with the establishment of The Mile End Mob (named after a particularly tough area of the East End of London). [49]
During the 1970s and 1980s (the main era for organised football-related violence), West Ham gained further notoriety for the levels of hooliganism in their fan base and antagonistic behaviour towards both their own and rival fans, and the police. During the 1970s in particular, rival groups of West Ham fans from neighbouring areas (most often groups from the districts of Barking and Dagenham) often fought each other at games.
In 1980 the club were forced to play their Cup Winners Cup game against Castilla behind closed doors to an empty ground after fans rioted at the away leg of the tie in the Bernabeu. [51] In 1985, five fans were stabbed on a cross-channel ferry to France after fighting involving fans of West Ham, Manchester United and Everton. [52]
In 2006, twenty West Ham fans appeared in an Italian court following their arrest after fights with rival supporters in Sicily before and after West Ham's game against Palermo in the away leg of their 2006–07 UEFA Cup game. At the home leg fans had bought T-shirts bearing the slogan "the Mafia" – a reference to Sicily being the home of the Cosa Nostra. This was seen as antagonistic by Palermo fans. Six West Ham fans, six police officers and five locals suffered minor injuries in fighting in Sicily. Rival fans threw bottles and chairs in the city's Teatro Massimo district. 500 people were involved in the brawl and police officers were attacked. It took police in riot gear more than an hour to bring the violence under control. An eyewitness said, "West Ham fans behaved like animals, roaming the streets, bottles in hand searching for anyone to fight". [53] More than 2,500 West Ham fans travelled to Palermo for the game. [54]
Mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, West Ham fans formed the Inter City Firm ('ICF'), an English football hooligan firm associated with the club. They were one of the most feared hooligan 'firms'. [55] The name came from the use of InterCity trains for away games. [56] The ICF were one of the first "casuals", so called because they avoided police supervision by not wearing football-related clothing. Fans' violent activities were not confined to local derbies – the hooligans were content to cause trouble at any game, though nearby teams often bore the brunt. During the 1990s, and to the present day, sophisticated surveillance and policing, coupled with club-supported promotions and community action, have reduced the level of violence, although the rivalry with Millwall, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea remains.
West Ham fans have taken part in pitch invasions and protests against the club's board of directors and their perceived financial mismanagement, after poor performances on the pitch or to show disapproval at the sale or purchase of players such as Lee Bowyer. [57] [58] [59] Other notable pitch invasions took place in the 1990s against West Ham's launch of The Hammer's Bond, a debenture which would have forced fans into the purchase of a bond before they could buy a season ticket. [58] In 1992, a post-match demonstration by fans against the scheme and new managing director, Peter Storrie, before a home game against Wimbledon was followed by pitch invasions in home games against Everton and Arsenal. The West Ham board of directors were influenced by the fans' protest and announced that the purchase of a bond would no longer be required in order to buy a season ticket. [60] Of 19,301 bonds originally available less than 1,000 were sold. [61]
Mass protests also took place at West Ham's home game against Burnley in 2018 to protest against the lack of investment from the board. 4 fans entered the pitch during play, one of whom carried the corner flag to the centre circle, and roughly 200 fans gathered around the directors box, aiming their anger at the joint chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold, both of whom were later escorted away. [62] During the 2019–20 season, 900 supporters protested against the club's board ahead of a 1–1 draw against Everton. On 29 February 2020, 2,500 supporters staged a protest march along the Greenway in Newham, once again protesting against Sullivan, Gold and Karren Brady's ownership of the club. [63]
West Ham won the UEFA Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina at the Fortuna Arena in Prague. [64] [65]
After the game Fiorentina president, Rocco Commisso described West Ham as treating Fiorentina players "like animals" after Luka Jović came off at half-time with a broken nose and Cristiano Biraghi received a bloodied face after being hit by an object thrown by West Ham supporters. [66] UEFA later charged both clubs with "throwing of objects" with West Ham being charged with "invasion of the field of play" and Fiorentina being charged with the "lighting of fireworks". [67] West Ham supporters were banned from attending the club's first away fixture of their 2023-24 Europa League campaign. The club was also fined €50,000 after supporters threw objects onto the pitch and a further €8,000 for a pitch invasion following the game. [68] Fiorentina were given a one-match ban for away supporters and were fined €30,000. [69] For the 2022–23 season, West Ham supporters topped the table for football-related arrests in England and Wales. 27 arrests of West Ham fans were for public disorder, and another 23 were for throwing missiles. [70]
Number of officially recognised supporters' groups by country [71] | |
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West Ham United's women's team is currently captained by an Australian, Katrina Gorry. Furthermore, Australian Mackenzie Arnold previously played as goalkeeper for West Ham's women's team before moving to Portland Thorns.
West Ham has an official supporters' group in Australia, OzHammers. [72] OzHammers has branches in Sydney, [73] [74] Melbourne, [75] Brisbane [76] and Perth. [77]
West Ham fans in Australia gather at pubs such as Cheers Sports Bar & Grill in Sydney to watch live matches. [73]
Kiwi Hammers is the official West Ham supporters' group in New Zealand. It was founded in 2012. [78]
West Ham United is frequently mentioned among the locals at The Queen Victoria tavern in the BBC soap opera EastEnders , created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith. The show is set in the London Borough of Walford, which is a portmanteau of the East End areas of Walthamstow and Stratford. The soap opera focuses on characters moving in and out of the borough, as well as coining the matter of family values. EastEnders has maintained an avid following, least of all with the charismatic Fowler family.
The 2005 film Green Street Hooligans (an allusion to the road on which the Boleyn Ground stands) depicted an American student, played by Elijah Wood, becoming involved with a fictional firm associated with West Ham, with an emphasis on the rivalry with Millwall. [79] [80] Although they originally allowed filming inside West Ham's ground, the directors of West Ham withdrew their permission once they became aware of the violent content of the film. [80]
West Ham hooliganism was again highlighted in the 2008 film Cass , based on the life of well-known former hooligan Cass Pennant. [81]
West Ham is the only football club referenced in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. [82]
West Ham played a prominent role in the American television show Ted Lasso , where character Nate Shelley manages the club. [83]
Following the building of the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London for the 2012 Summer Olympics West Ham United put forward proposals which would see the club leave their Boleyn Ground location and relocate to Stratford. On 22 March 2013, West Ham secured a 99-year lease deal, with the stadium planned to be used as their home ground from the 2016–2017 season. [84] West Ham United supporters backed these proposals with 85% in favour of a move in a poll conducted by YouGov, in May 2013. [85]
Below is a list of people who are known West Ham United supporters:
West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, having moved from their former home, the Boleyn Ground, in 2016.
Millwall Football Club is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in 1910. From then until 1993, the club played at what is now called The Old Den in New Cross, before moving to its current home stadium nearby, called The Den. The traditional club crest is a rampant lion, referred to in the team's nickname The Lions. Millwall's traditional kit consists of dark blue shirts, white shorts, and blue socks.
Sir Trevor David Brooking, is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England.
Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviors perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism typically involves conflict between pseudo-tribes, formed to intimidate and attack supporters of other teams. Certain clubs have long-standing rivalries with other clubs and hooliganism associated with matches between them can be more severe. An example of this is the Devon Derby . Conflict may arise at any point, before, during or after matches and occasionally outside of game situations. Participants often select locations away from stadiums to avoid arrest by the police, but conflict can also erupt spontaneously inside the stadium or in the surrounding streets. In extreme cases, hooligans, police and bystanders have been killed, and riot police have intervened. Hooligan-led violence has been called "aggro" and "bovver".
The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, East London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years of financial difficulty. The seating capacity of the ground at closure was 35,016.
Mark James Noble is an English former professional footballer who currently serves as sporting director of Premier League club West Ham United. A boyhood fan of the club, Noble spent eighteen years with West Ham as a central midfielder, serving as club captain for seven seasons. Aside from two brief loan spells at Hull City and Ipswich Town in 2006, Noble played all of his first team football for the club, earning him the nickname "Mr West Ham".
Julien Alex Thomas Faubert is a former professional footballer who played as a right back. Born in France, he played in one match for the France national team, in which he scored, before switching allegiance to the Martinique national team in 2014.
The Zulu Warriors are a football hooligan firm associated with English football club, Birmingham City. The Zulu Warriors were formed in the late 1980s and the name allegedly came from a chant of "Zulu, Zulu" which Manchester City fans aimed at Birmingham in 1982, due to their multicultural following. However, both the "Zulu" chant and the term "Zulu Warriors", in the context of a fan following rather than as an organised gang, were in use from at least the mid 1970s.
The Millwall Bushwackers are a football firm associated with Millwall Football Club. Millwall have a historic association with football hooliganism, which came to prevalence in the 1970s and 1980s, with a firm known originally as F-Troop, eventually becoming more widely known as the Millwall Bushwackers, who were one of the most notorious hooligan gangs in England. On five occasions The Den was closed by the Football Association and the club has received numerous fines for crowd disorder. Millwall's hooligans are regarded by their rivals as amongst the stiffest competition, with Manchester United hooligan Colin Blaney describing them as being amongst the top four firms in his autobiography 'Undesirables', and West Ham hooligan Cass Pennant featuring them on his Top Boys TV YouTube channel, on which their fearsome reputation for violence was described.
The rivalry between Millwall and West Ham United is one of the longest-standing and most bitter in English football. The two teams, then known as Millwall Athletic and Thames Ironworks, both originated in the East End of London, and were located less than three miles apart. They first played each other in the 1899–1900 FA Cup. The match was historically known as the Dockers derby, as both sets of supporters were predominantly dockers at shipyards on the River Thames. Consequently, each set of fans worked for rival firms who were competing for the same business; this intensified the tension between the teams. In 1904, West Ham moved to the Boleyn Ground which was then part of Essex until a London boundary change in 1965. In 1910, Millwall moved across the River Thames to New Cross in South East London and the teams were no longer East London neighbours. Both sides have relocated since, but remain just under four miles apart. Millwall moved to The Den in Bermondsey in 1993 and West Ham to the London Stadium in Stratford in 2016.
The 2009 Upton Park riot occurred in and around West Ham United's Boleyn Ground, in Upton Park before, during and after a Football League Cup second round match between West Ham and Millwall on 25 August 2009. The match was won by the home side 3–1 after extra time, but the game was marred by pitch invasions and disorder in the streets outside the ground, where a Millwall supporter was stabbed. The disturbances were met with condemnation by the Football Association, the British government and the two clubs involved. The incident led to fears of a return of the hooliganism that had tarnished the reputation of English football in the 1970s and 80s. There were also concerns that it could have a negative effect on England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup - which was rejected in favour of the bid from Russia more than a year later.
The Arsenal firms are groups of football hooligans who are fans of the Arsenal Football Club. There are two Arsenal firms, The Gooners and The Herd. The Gooners were a violent football hooligan firm mainly active in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the name is now used by most non-hooligan Arsenal supporters.
The 2011–12 season was West Ham United's first season back in the Football League Championship, after being relegated from the Premier League at the conclusion of 2010–11 campaign. They also competed in the League Cup and the FA Cup. It was their first season under Sam Allardyce, who was appointed in May 2011 after the sacking of the club's previous manager, Avram Grant. On 19 May 2012, West Ham gained promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, as they won the play-off final by defeating Blackpool 2–1 at Wembley.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stratford, Newham, East London. They won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965, and the Europa Conference League in 2023. They have also competed in the UEFA Cup, UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. Outside of major competitions, the club took part in the Anglo-Italian League Cup in 1975–76, the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1992–93, and the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Beginning in at least the 1960s, the United Kingdom gained a reputation worldwide for football hooliganism; the phenomenon was often dubbed the British or English Disease. However, since the 1980s and well into the 1990s the UK government has led a widescale crackdown on football related violence. While football hooliganism has been a growing concern in some continental European countries in recent years, British football fans now tend to have a better reputation abroad. Although reports of British football hooliganism still surface, the instances now tend to occur at pre-arranged locations rather than at the matches themselves.
The 2013–14 season was West Ham United's second campaign in the Premier League since being promoted in the 2011–12 season. It was West Ham's 18th Premier League campaign overall.
The 2014–15 season was West Ham United's third campaign in the Premier League since being promoted in the 2011–12 season. It was West Ham's 19th Premier League campaign overall.
The 2015–16 season was West Ham United's fourth campaign in the Premier League since being promoted in the 2011–12 season. It was West Ham's 20th Premier League campaign overall, their 58th appearance in the top division, and their 121st year in existence.
Reece Joel Oxford is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club FC Augsburg. Oxford made his debut for West Ham United aged 16 years and 198 days, making him the club's youngest ever player, beating a record of 16 years and 221 days set in 1922 by Billy Williams.
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