Despite never winning a league title, West Ham are one of England's best supported clubs. With a rich history and a passionate fanbase, they are an icon of British football.

West Ham United are a Premier League football club based in East London, England.

The club is famous for their youth academy, which has recently produced notable England internationals such as Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Declan Rice..

West Ham are also renowned for several iconic players including 1966 World Cup winners Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters - all products of the club's academy.

West Ham play at the 66,000-seater London Stadium in Stratford after moving from the Boleyn Ground in Upton Park in 2016. The club's nickname is the Hammers or the Irons, after their original name Thames Ironworks.

The club have won the FA Cup three times, the European Cup Winners' Cup once and most recently the Europa Conference League in 2023.

Their best finish in the top flight of English football was third in the 1985/86 season.

West Ham fans will always point out the club also won the World Cup in 1966 for England, as the club provided all the goalscorers (Hurst hat-trick and a Peters strike) and the captain who lifted the trophy - Bobby Moore.

 

Foundation early history

West Ham were founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks. In 1900, the team name changed to West Ham United, but still they still use the nickname The Irons, as well as The Hammers.

West Ham United initially played in the Southern and Western Leagues until their introduction into the Football League in 1919.

The Boleyn Ground, also known as Upton Park, became their home in 1904 and remained so until 2016, when they moved into the London Stadium.

West Ham were promoted to the top flight in 1923 and played in the first FA Cup final at the old Wembley Stadium.

That match saw Bolton Wanderers emerge victorious 2-0 in a match dubbed the 'White Horse Final', after mounted police, including one on a white horse, had to clear the crowd off the pitch before kick-off. It's estimated up to 300,000 people attended the final that year.

In 1940, West Ham won the League War Cup final against Blackburn Rovers 1-0 with Sam Small scoring the only goal. The match was played even though there were fears that London would be bombed by the Luftwaffe.

 

The golden years

Following the appointment of Ron Greenwood as manager, West Ham United enjoyed a successful spell which included contributions from some of the club's most iconic players.

In 1964, West Ham beat Preston North End 3-2 in the final to win the FA Cup. The Hammers team was captained by Bobby Moore and included Geoff Hurst.

The following year, the Hammers won the European Cup Winners Cup. They beat 1860 Munich 2-0 in the final with Alan Sealey scoring both goals in a team which also included Moore, Hurst and Peters.

In 1974, John Lyall took over from Greenwood and the new manager enjoyed his fair share of success, too.

West Ham United beat Fulham 2-0 in the 1975 FA Cup final with Alan Taylor scoring both goals. The Hammers team that day included Frank Lampard Sr., the father of the player who would go on to become Chelsea's record goalscorer. Fulham's team included former Hammer Bobby Moore.

In 1976, West Ham made the European Cup Winners' Cup final again, losing 4-2 to Anderlecht.

West Ham won the FA Cup again in 1980, with a rare headed goal from Sir Trevor Brooking, another product of the team's academy who made 647 appearances for the club.

The trophy was lifted for the second time by captain Billy Bonds, who played a record-breaking 799 times for the club.

 

The Boys of '86

West Ham have never won the top-flight title. Their best finish came in the 1985/86 season when they finished third behind Everton and champions Liverpool.

During the season the Hammers went on an 18-game unbeaten run, thrashing Newcastle 8-1 along the way.

The 46-goal strike partnership between Frank McAvennie (26) and Tony Cottee (20) was the most prolific in the league that season.

The team have gone down in West Ham folklore as the 'Boys of 86' and are still viewed by fans as one of the best teams ever to pull on the claret and blue jersey.

Manager Lyall had a very small squad at his disposal, and mainly used just thirteen regular first team players, including West Ham legends Phil Parkes, Ray Stewart, Alvin Martin and Alan Devonshire.

Despite finishing third, West Ham were excluded from competing in UEFA Cup the following season due to the ban on English clubs in European competitions, which was introduced after the Heysel Stadium disaster.

 

Promotions and relegations

West Ham United have become well-versed in promotions and relegations over the last four decades.

Despite Leroy Rosenior's 15 goals, the Hammers were relegated to Division Two in 1988/89.

In 1990/91, West Ham were promoted back to Division One, but were relegated again the following campaign and missed out on the first season of the newly formed Premiership. They were promoted back to the top flight for the 1993/94 season.

West Ham entered the new millennium off the back of a 1999 Intertoto Cup triumph. They beat Metz 3-2 on aggregate in the finals with Frank Lampard Jr. among those on the scoresheet.

West Ham had a squad which was brimming with talent during the Harry Redknapp managerial era, but they struggled to keep their best players. Rio Ferdinand left for Leeds United in 2000 and Frank Lampard for Chelsea in 2001.

In 2002/03, West Ham were relegated to the Championship and Joe Cole joined Chelsea.

After two seasons in the Championship they returned to the Premier League in 2005/06 and also lost out in the final of the FA Cup on penalties to Liverpool.

After a disastrous 2010/11 season where West Ham finished 20th in the Premier League, the club returned to the top flight for the 2012/13 season with Sam Allardyce at the helm.

 

Move to the London Stadium

West Ham moved to London Stadium in 2016 off the back of a successful 2015/16 season, which saw them finish seventh in the Premier League with Dimitri Payet starring.

Payet forced a move to Marseille in 2017 and West Ham struggled to achieve the same level of success. Manager Slaven Bilic was sacked in November 2017 and replaced by David Moyes who steered the club away from relegation.

Moyes' short-term contract was not extended and former Real Madrid and Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini took over.

Midway through the 2019/20 season, West Ham were in danger of relegation and Moyes was again brought back to the London Stadium, this time to replace Pellegrini. Under Moyes the club finished 16th, five points clear of the relegation zone.

Bringing back Moyes proved to be a decision well worth making.

After ensuring the club stayed in the top flight, the Scotsman managed an impressive sixth-placed finish with the Hammers in 2020/21, which resulted in qualification for next season's Europa League competition.

Driven by Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice, Moyes' West Ham also had an impressive 2021/22 campaign, reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League and finishing seventh in the Premier League. They qualified for Europe for the second season in a row but this time for the Europa Conference League.

 

Silverware in Europe

After a disappointing 2022/23 season in the Premier League, where West Ham only managed to finish in 14th just six points clear of relegation, Moyes found his job under threat. But in Europe it was a totally different kettle of fish.

After an unbeaten run to the Europa Conference League final, Bowen's last-minute winner saw West Ham end their 43-year wait for a trophy with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Italian side Fiorentina in Prague.

The Hammers won a first piece of silverware since 1980's FA Cup, and a first European trophy since 1965.

Just nine weeks before their manager watched as the away fans unfurled a 'Moyes Out' banner during a scratchy 1-0 win over Fulham, which likely saved his job.

Now Moyes has written his name in West Ham folklore, joining Greenwood and Lyall as trophy-winning Hammers managers. A place in the 2023/24 Europa League meant the club qualified for Europe three campaigns in a row, for the first time.

Declan Rice became only the third captain, along with Moore and Bonds, to lift silverware in the club's 128-year history.

The game came to life in the second half, Said Benrahma tucked away a penalty high into the net in front of the Hammers' faithful to make the score 1-0 after the ball had clearly hit Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi's hand after Bowen controlled it with his chest.

But Fiorentina equalised just four minutes later when Nicolas Gonzalez won a header and the ball fell for Giacomo Bonaventura to control and fire between Rice and Nayef Aguerd into the far corner.

They almost immediately took the lead but Rolando Mandragora steered his shot wide from in front of goal.

But West Ham regained their composure and Tomas Soucek, back at the home ground of his former club Slavia Prague, was twice denied by keeper Pietro Terracciano.

Then came the big moment. Lucas Paqueta's through-ball finally caught out Fiorentina's high line and there was Bowen, scampering clear and slotting past Terracciano.

Cue bedlam on the pitch, on the touchline and in the stands. The wait was over and West Ham could finally celebrate some silverware.

 

Declan Rice sale

A month after lifting the Europa Conference League trophy, Rice completed his long-awaited transfer from West Ham to Arsenal in a British record £105million deal.

Rice penned an open letter to West Ham fans, revealing the desire of playing in the Champions League - which Arsenal will do in the 2023/24 season - was one of the reasons behind his "tough" decision to leave.

West Ham's joint-chairman David Sullivan confirmed in June the east London club had a gentleman's agreement with Rice to allow him to leave this summer after the player turned down the offer of a highly-lucrative new contract.

The three-time Hammer of the year made 245 appearances for the Irons, with his last helping secure a first trophy since 1980.

 

 

Despite one of the best starts to a Premier League campaign in the 2023/24 season, West Ham crumbled after Christmas and the calls for Moyes' head once again grew louder and louder.

The Hammers began dropping down the table and were knocked out of the Europa League following a quarter-final loss to German champions Bayer Leverkusen.

West Ham were thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea in early May which effectively ended their slim hopes of earning European qualification for a fourth-straight campaign.

That heavy defeat came on the back of a 2-2 draw with Liverpool and 5-2 loss at Crystal Palace. They beat Luton in the penultimate game of the season and cemented a 9th place finish.

Moyes signed off his four-and-a-half years in charge with a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, but felt he left the team in good shape.

During his second spell at the club, Moyes won 103 of the 231 in was in charge for, with a win percentage of 44.59%.

As well as winning the 2023 Europa Conference League, he took the club to three consecutive seasons in Europe and finishes of sixth and seventh in the Premier League.

The 61-year-old said: “I think there are a lot of things for the club to take forward and a lot of things we’ve made better and I hope it continues.

“I’ve said to the players in the dressing room, they have to keep it going. They’ve set some standards in the Premier League and let’s see if they can maintain it.”

West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan offered “sincere thanks and gratitude” for Moyes’ efforts in the job.

“David has been responsible for a period of great progress and success in our history and we are extremely grateful for all of his hard work, commitment and dedication to the role,” Sullivan said.

“David has been an absolute professional to work with and he will leave with our greatest respect and good wishes – he deserves to be held in the highest esteem for the service he has given to West Ham United and we wish him every success in the future.

Less than a week after the end of the season, West Ham named Julen Lopetegui as Moyes' replacement.

The Spaniard previously coached Porto, Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla prior to a brief tenure at Wolves.

 

West Ham's biggest rivals

Millwall have historically been West Ham's fiercest rivals with the supporters involved in numerous violent, and sometimes fatal, incidents related to this fixture.

The rivalry stretches back to the early 1900s, with both sets of supporters, predominantly shipyard dockers, working for different companies.

North London's Tottenham Hotspur and West London's Chelsea are also fierce rivals, and have also resulted in many hooligan-related clashes between supporters.

 

The fanbase

West Ham supporters are famously passionate and partisan. The club anthem 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles' is sung at every match and is over 100 years old.

The Inter City Firm (ICF), is the hooligan firm notoriously associated with West Ham. Mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the ICF has inspired many books and the films Green Street, Cass and The Firm which starred Oscar winner Gary Oldman.

 

West Ham's finances

West Ham are the 15th most valuable football team on the planet according to Forbes' May 2023 calculation, with a value of £870M.

The club is owned by David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky and the Gold family, after David Gold passed away in 2023.