West Ham United and the Club's Official Technical Partner Umbro teamed up to give inspirational young ten-year-old fan Aadi Wilson a birthday matchday he would never forget.
Aadi, who lives with his Hammers supporting family in Leicester, has SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), which is a degenerative disease. He had started to walk but at around two years old lost the use of his legs. He is now fully wheelchair-bound. He requires regular support in school and at home (where he has a sleep system that requires him to turn up to eight or nine times in the night), and Aadi’s family have fundraised for vital medication to support him.
Despite this, Aadi is a bright, positive and inspirational young boy who has a hugely positive outlook on life. He knows all the West Ham players, past and present, and is described by his family as having ‘an almost unhealthy level’ of knowledge of the Club for someone of such a young age!
A keen football fan in general, he has started to play wheelchair football recently and is now regularly scoring goals for his team. He does occasionally manage to get to West Ham games when possible, and with his tenth birthday taking place on the eve of the Burnley match earlier this month, the Club, alongside Umbro, wanted to give him a day he’d never forget.
Aadi was joined by his family - Mark (father), Panna (mother), Ian (grandad), Sahaana (sister) and John (uncle) - as they headed to London Stadium for the Premier League clash against the Clarets. In a day full of surprises, Aadi met all the first-team squad, had his shirt signed and wished good luck to Tomáš Souček and captain Jarrod Bowen.
The young Hammer then spent time with Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who showed him around his matchday office, before Aadi headed pitchside to watch the team warm up as the atmosphere built. That wasn’t the end of the surprises though, as he was striker Callum Wilson’s matchday mascot, joining him as the players took to the field in east London.
The youngster's birthday was topped off as Wilson scored a crucial goal as the Hammers secured all three points with a 3-2 win over Burnley, earning their second Premier League triumph in a row.
Wilson then rounded off an incredible day with one final surprise for Aadi, meeting him pitchside after full-time to gift him his goalscoring match shirt, which he duly signed to cap a truly special day. The young fan also went home with a host of Umbro goodies, providing the perfect present on a day he’ll never forget.
Wilson said: “It was a pleasure to meet Aadi and his family. The strength and positivity Aadi has is truly inspiring, and I was delighted to be able to give him an extra special birthday present. His positivity, knowledge and passion for the Club and football was amazing. West Ham United is a family and anything we can do as players to give back to the fans who support us is always very rewarding.”
Aadi’s dad Mark added: "Aadi had the most incredible day, and one that none of us will ever forget. Everyone at the Club was so kind to him - from Nuno and the players to all the wonderful backroom staff - and made him feel so special. We want to say a huge thank you to all of the West Ham family and to Umbro for putting it all together for him. And the three points at the end was just the icing on the cake!"