West Ham United's Development Squad have been drawn in Group B of the HKFC Citibank Soccer Sevens tournament due to be held between May 29-31.
The Hammers will travel to Hong Kong to participate in the prestigious tournament following the end of their Barclays U21 Premier League Campaign, where they will face Hong Kong champions and last year’s finalists Kitchee, Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG and HKFC Captain’s Select.
This is the first time the Hammers have taken part in the international competition since 2012. Speaking ahead of the competition, Academy manager Terry Westley said: “We were invited to participate which is nice. I’ve been to the tournament before when I was at Birmingham City, so I know a little bit about it.
“It’s a very fast, physically demanding seven-a-side tournament played in challenging conditions and presents a different type of experience. It’s a nice thing for us to be involved in at the end of the season.
“It’s a real challenge for them. As its seven-a-side we’ll be taking mainly attacking players. We’re hoping it’ll be a great experience.”
Alongside West Ham, fellow Premier League teams Stoke City, Aston Villa, Leicester City and Newcastle United will all be sending teams to compete
During the tournament, we’ll have match reports, pictures and reaction on www.whufc.com and across all our platforms.
The full draw for the HKFC Soccer Sevens is:
Group A: Newcastle United (ENG), Leicester City (ENG), HK Premier League Club 1 (HKG), Singapore Cricket Club (SIN)
Group B: West Ham United (ENG), Kitchee (HKG), Shanghai SIPG (CHN), HKFC Captain’s Select (HKG)
Group C: Aston Villa (ENG), Wellington Phoenix (NZL), HK Premier League Club 2 (HKG), Hong Kong Football Club (HKG)
Group D: Stoke City (ENG), Atletico Madrid (SPA), HKFA U-20 (HKG), Yau Yee League Select (HKG)