Excitement is growing ahead of West Ham United’s 2016 US Tour visit to North Carolina.
Slaven Bilic’s squad will make the second stop of their summer visit to the United States in the town of Cary, where they will take on North American Soccer League (NASL) side Carolina RailHawks on Tuesday 12 July at 8pm ET.
West Ham will be the first English Premier League club to visit the area known as the Triangle – Cary sits between three prestigious universities – and RailHawks President and General Manager Curt Johnson cannot wait for the big game.
“We have the opportunity to test ourselves against one of the top teams in the world,” said Johnson. “What we are going to see on 12 July is an absolutely fantastic event with a lot of world-class players and a lot of excitement.”
West Ham’s Commercial Director Felicity Barnard joined Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke on a visit to North Carolina in mid-May, and both were hugely impressed by what they found.
Speaking to CarolinaRailHawks.com, Barnard said the fixture and training facilities would provide West Ham would a superb base at which to prepare for the 2016/17 season.
“Coming over to the US is part of our pre-season and a really important part of us getting ready for the Premier League season ahead and, next season, for our European campaign as well,” said Barnard.
“Each year we look at where we can get the most competitive matches and the best facilities to do that and the US is a natural choice for us. We want to go somewhere with lots of soccer fans and the sport is on such an upward trajectory that it’s an exciting place to be.
“Having looked around the facilities, it’s a great stadium and the training facilities are fantastic and they will definitely help us to get ready for the new season back home.”
Having looked around the facilities, it’s a great stadium and the training facilities are fantastic and they will definitely help us to get ready for the new season back home
While they may be just a decade old, the RailHawks hail from an area with a long and close association with the sport, where a Youth Soccer League has been in place for 40 years and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels have reached the NCAA final three times since 2001.
Barnard explained that the heritage, combined with the RailHawks’ own ambitions of winning the NASL and eventually breaking into Major League Soccer (MLS), were part of the thinking behind West Ham’s visit this summer.
“It’s really important for us to pick opposition teams who share our ethos and we are both very attacking sides in the way we play and exciting to watch.
“Having looked at the background of the club, their ambitions and what they want to do in their home market, those are very important and it’s the same for us.
“Looking at both clubs and the region as a whole and how deep-rooted the region is in soccer, it was a natural choice for us to visit North Carolina.”
To purchase your Carolina RailHawks v West Ham United tickets now, click here.
Barnard explained that the heritage, combined with the RailHawks’ own ambitions of winning the NASL and eventually breaking into Major League Soccer (MLS), were part of the thinking behind West Ham’s visit this summer.
“It’s really important for us to pick opposition teams who share our ethos and we are both very attacking sides in the way we play and exciting to watch.
“Having looked at the background of the club, their ambitions and what they want to do in their home market, those are very important and it’s the same for us.
“Looking at both clubs and the region as a whole and how deep-rooted the region is in soccer, it was a natural choice for us to visit North Carolina.”
To purchase your Carolina RailHawks v West Ham United tickets now, click here.