Both Professional Development Phase (PDP) sides at the Academy of Football - West Ham United Under-23s and Under-18s - have begun pre-season training for the 2020/21 season.
Both teams, who have been training at Little Heath Sports Ground, are operating in accordance with government protocols and Premier League guidance to prioritise the health and wellbeing of everybody involved.
With the U23s returning to the training pitch on Thursday 16 July, and the U18s returning the following Tuesday, both teams have so far done so in accordance with Stage One of the Return to Training Protocol: small group training only with up five players in a group while strictly adhering to the government’s social distancing guidelines, replicating the processes and facilities used in the first team's return to training.
The Academy, its medical and operations team have implemented strict safety measures to ensure the wellbeing of all personnel, including health screenings, temperature checks, and players and staff arriving and departing from the training ground in their own kit.
For the U23s, a number of players were on show having signed their first professional contracts as footballers, while plenty of new Scholars also turned out in Claret and Blue for the very first time with the U18s.
You can see some of the highlights from the two teams' first pre-season training sessions in the video above.
