The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, visited Newham on Wednesday to share ideas on regenerating deprived areas - and became a West Ham United fan in the process.
President Lula, as he is affectionately known, visited the West
Ham and Plaistow New Deal for Communities programme in Canning
Town, where he met Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott,
Newham's Mayor Sir Robin Wales and our Managing Director, Paul
Aldridge.
The NDC operates two community resource centres - one at The Hub in
Star Lane and the other, Grassroots, at the Memorial Recreation
Ground in Memorial Avenue, West Ham, the home of the Hammers from
1897 to 1904, when they moved to Upton Park.
To mark the visit, Paul Aldridge presented President Lula with a
personalised Hammers shirt, a pennant and a framed picture of
England and Brazil legends Bobby Moore and Pele.