West Ham United hosted the second of two Open Training Sessions on the Sunshine State Tour of Florida.
The Hammers welcomed supporters from all over the United States and beyond to Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, a city located on the Pinellas peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Al Lang Stadium is the waterfront home ground of iconic USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies. The stadium is named in honour of Al Lang, a former mayor of St. Petersburg who was instrumental in bringing minor league and spring training baseball to the city in the early 20th century, and has been home to the Rowdies since 2011.
Supporters joined us at the 7,500 venue on Thursday evening as Julen Lopetegui and his coaches put his players through their paces, with former Hammers Anton Ferdinand and Nigel Reo-Coker hosting proceedings.
After training, the players spent time signing autographs, posing for photographs and getting to know their American fans, as well as some familiar faces from London who had made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
Defender Kurt Zouma thanked supporters for welcoming the Irons so warmly, saying: "It's been good work, hard work, good practice and it's good to see the fans as well, supporting us and showing how massive West Ham are.
"I've played in America before, but not with West Ham, so this is my first time with the Hammers and it's nice for all of us to see how massive the Club is, and it's good to make the fans happy because that's what we're here for.
"I'm feeling good myself, too. I've been working hard in pre-season and preparing for the new season in the hot weather and we're all enjoying it and looking forward to the game in Tampa on Saturday."
The Hammers also hosted a number of popular American content creators, including YouTuber Jeremy Hutchins, and TikTok stars Kio Cyr and Beca Olivera, who competed in challenges with Lucas Paquetá, Emerson, Aaron Cresswell, James Ward-Prowse and George Earthy.
It all added up to a big West Ham party in the Sunshine State ahead of Saturday's Stateside Cup tie with Crystal Palace at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tickets for Saturday’s match are available to buy HERE. If you’re unable to get to Tampa, you can order a live stream HERE.
