Approximately 25 members of the Italian Irons Official Supporters’ Club joined us at London Stadium for the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, as part of their ten-year anniversary celebrations.
We caught up with Chairperson Matteo Martino, who told us everything there is to know about the group…
Can you talk us through the origins of the Italian Irons?
The group was formed in 2015. There were a few of us who were living in different cities in Italy, who got to know each other through our love of West Ham. We would mostly meet up in London for matches, and then we had the idea for a Supporters’ Club to bring together fans in Italy, who share the same passion for the Club.
How many members do you have, and how has the group grown over the years?
There were probably three of us who were particularly invested at the start, and in the ten years we’ve been going we’ve grown from about 30 members to over 100, which is incredible.
A few of our members have special stories about how they first started supporting West Ham. For example, two had relatives living in London when they were young and went to games in the mid-1990s, and one of our oldest members watched the 1980 FA Cup final and was taken in by the personality and spirt of the team.
The Club’s association with bands such as Iron Maiden plays a part for some of our members, as do Italian players like Paolo Di Canio, who is so famously linked to West Ham. There have been a few more recently, and we were very proud when Emerson and Angelo Ogbonna were part of the 2023 Europa Conference League-winning squad.
How do you stay connected, and what’s been the most memorable moment with your Official Supporters’ Club?
We have a lot of members in Milan and Rome, and we like to meet up for games and welcome English friends for events as well. We do have members all over Italy, so we have a history of trying to meet up in the summer, too.
Of course, that night in Prague was very special, but actually for us the away game against Liverpool in February 2018 was probably our most important moment as a group. There were 27 of us who travelled over for the match, and we honoured our friend Enrico, who passed away earlier that season. It was his dream to take his son to an away game with us. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen before he died, so we decided to travel in big numbers, and take his son with us, to remember him.
We’re really proud of the friendships we’ve developed over the last ten years. We’ve met many people from England and all over the world through West Ham, and we’re excited for the journey to continue.
Tell us about your trip to London for the Spurs game last weekend.
We had all been really excited about it for a long time. There were around 20-25 of us at the game, from all over Italy. We stayed for the whole weekend, and met up with our friends from England both before and after our visit to London Stadium.
How can other supporters find out more about the Italian Irons?
Everyone’s welcome to get in touch, and get involved. You can find us on Facebook (@ItalianIrons), X (@ItalianIrons) or Instagram (@italianironsofficial).
