West Ham United were welcomed to the Australian city of Perth by hundreds of supporters on Wednesday evening.
David Moyes and his 20-man squad were greeted warmly as they arrived at the city’s Crown Towers hotel, just a few hundred metres from Optus Stadium, where they will take on Perth Glory and Tottenham Hotspur in two exciting pre-season matches.
The Irons will be in Western Australia’s capital for the next week, meeting fans, attending community events and civic functions, training at Macedonia Park in the suburb of Stirling and facing A-League side Perth (Saturday 15 July, 6pm AWST) and Premier League rivals Tottenham (Tuesday 18 July, 6pm AWST).
Before all that, the UEFA Europa Conference League winners stepped off their flight and happily signed autographs and posed for photographs with the Claret and Blue Army.
Among them were Canning Town-born expatriate Neil Thompson and his son Reilly, and his Australian friend Tom Fraser, all of whom were dressed in retro West Ham kit. For them, and their fellow fans, seeing their heroes in the flesh was a dream come true.
“It’s incredible, we’re so happy the boys are here!” said Thompson, who lives in Mandurah. “It’s nearly 30 years since they came here last, when I was only six years old, so to be able to bring my boy, who is seven, to his first West Ham game here is just so exciting.
“For us, the final was on at 4am and at the end we were crying! There are no words to describe how we felt, so have them here now is just incredible. West Ham are massive in Perth and everywhere I go when I wear a shirt, I get stopped and asked where I’m from!”
“I wasn’t born a Hammer or grow up a huge soccer fan, but I played cricket with Neil and started watching West Ham with his family and I’ve fallen in love with the Club and what it stands for,” smiled Fraser, who hails from Rockingham. “It’s 14 years now I’ve been a supporter and we’ve had lots of ups and downs, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!
“Before COVID, West Ham were meant to be visiting Brisbane [in summer 2020] and I was super excited for that at the time, but then COVID hit and it didn’t happen, so to find out West Ham were coming to my home, it means I can go to the games with my family, which is something I never thought I’d experience.”
Many of those who were at Crown Towers will be at Macedonia Park for an open training session on Thursday morning, and at Optus Stadium for two fixtures they never thought they would witness on Australian turf.
Among the players they will see in action is Jarrod Bowen, the UEFA Europa Conference League final match-winner and England international forward who is a hugely popular figure among the West Ham fanbase.
“I’ve never come to Australia and it’s a long flight, like people had told me, and I never thought I’d see so many fans here straight away!” said the No20. “It means a lot to everyone to be here, so it’s unreal to receive that welcome.
“We’ve obviously not seen so many fans since the final and the parade, but obviously it’s still fresh in everyone’s minds and to half relive the moment again here in Perth is great.”
Tickets are on sale now for West Ham’s two pre-season matches in Perth!
