West Ham United women's team flew to Western Australia on Saturday afternoon for their ten-day Perth International Football Cup Tour.
Manager Rehanne Skinner, her backroom team, players and Club staff all gathered at Heathrow Airport before starting the long trip Down Under to Perth, where they will follow a similar schedule to the immensely successful men's first team tour, which took place in July 2023.
The Irons will play two exciting fixtures as part of the inaugural Perth International Football Cup, which will feature two other English Barclays Women's Super League clubs in Manchester City and Leicester City, as well as French Division 1 Féminine side Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG, who finished as runners-up in their domestic league last season, are first up for West Ham at HBF Park on Thursday 29 August, at 6.15pm AWST. The winners will take on either Manchester City or Leicester in the final, also at HBF Park, on Sunday 1 September, with the two losers meeting at the same venue in a third-place play-off.
Skinner and her players will use the time around the two fixtures to continue preparations for the upcoming WSL season, which they kick off away to Manchester United on 21 September, while the squad will also take part in a number of activations and events throughout their stay in Perth, when they will get the chance to meet supporters and immerse themselves in the local community and culture.
Speaking ahead of the trip, Skinner expressed her delight at having the opportunity to take her side Down Under for their first ever tour abroad.
"It's an unbelievable opportunity for the whole team," Skinner said. "It's a fantastic tour to be doing in Australia. For the first tour that the women's team have done, what a tour this is to do. We’ll be facing great opposition in a great part of the world.
"I love Perth, and there are a lot of players who won't have been to that part of the world before. I think it's just great for team bonding, great for building upon where we are now, and we'll be facing tougher opposition than what we've played in behind-closed-doors friendlies so far.
"This tour gives us an opportunity to really start to build on the way that we're trying to play and build more relationships in and amongst the team, on and off the pitch, which is hugely important going into this season."
Tickets for West Ham’s games against PSG and either Manchester City or Leicester City are available HERE. We will be providing regular updates from Perth during the tour here on whufc.com, and on the Club’s official app.
