As West Ham United prepared to kick-off their Premier League fixture with Arsenal in late November, a huge mosaic was unfurled along the front of the Bobby Moore Stand with the words ‘The hotter the furnace, the stronger the iron’ emblazoned across it, and above it was a tifo unveiling ‘1895’.
The project was commissioned and created by Supporters’ Club Ironworks Alliance, whose aim is to improve and develop the atmosphere at London Stadium through the introduction of fan-led displays at matches.
Group member Jake Townsend tells us all about how their idea eventually became reality…
Great to speak to you again, Jake. Firstly, there’s been significant movement with Ironworks Alliance since we last spoke to you in August. How did the first fan-led display come about?
“This has always been something that we wanted to do as part of the wider matchday atmosphere improvement. As soon as we got approval from the West Ham team, we then started looking at different designs, and we put those designs to our Ironworks Alliance WhatsApp community group, which has over 200 people as part of it.
“We did a vote and we landed with tying into the Club’s history, and it resonated with quite a lot of people.
“We actually crafted the banners ourselves. The whole piece of work was quite tricky, and it also took longer than we thought it was going to take.
“We assembled a team of volunteers on the day to ensure everything went smoothly before the game. For a first display, we were happy with it.”
How have you found working with the Club to organise these displays?
“They've been very supportive. They’ve given us the right access, and the Supporter Services team has given up their time to meet with us. They’ve been great, and we’re very appreciative of their work to help make it happen.”
What’s the reaction from the fans been like?
“It’s been overwhelmingly positive, and there have also been some suggestions that we'll take on board for next time.
“One thing that we want to do more of as a group is fan engagement. We’ve asked everyone to take part in a survey and at the moment we're looking at about an 80% satisfaction score, so they want to see it again, but there are lots of learnings to take away from it.
“We're starting to grow now, so the next step for us is to start engaging the wider fanbase and get more feedback to set our direction for the future.
“The fact that it was completely fan-funded is important. It was made by fans, and it was also coordinated by fans, and they appreciated the effort that went into it.”
How pleased are you with how the mosaic and tifo turned out?
“At the start of the game, the atmosphere was noticeably better. Everyone was up for it. We did a lot of driving on social media before the game to try and encourage a better matchday atmosphere, and the tifo was just one part of that.
“We're probably one of the best sets of fans for our away trips, so it’s just trying to recreate that at London Stadium.”
What’s your inspiration for future projects?
“We're going to look at a display for Michail Antonio when he's back at the stadium. It would be a really nice touch to do something for him so that he knows everyone's thinking of him and the fans wish him well with his recovery.”
