US Tour takes-off

  • West Ham United flew from London Heathrow to Seattle on Saturday morning
  • Hammers will spend 12 days in the United States, playing two matches
  • Seattle Sounders (5 July) and Carolina RailHawks (12 July) will provide the opposition
West Ham United jetted off for a 12-day US Tour from London’s Heathrow Airport on Saturday morning.

The Hammers will spread the West Ham Way to the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina by taking on the MLS’ biggest club Seattle Sounders and ambitious NASL side Carolina RailHawks.

With social and corporate events, open training sessions and two mouth-watering fixtures, the Tour promises to excite and enthuse existing and new West Ham supporters in the rapidly growing North American football market.

Captain Mark Noble led a 22-man squad featuring fellow Hammers of the Year Winston Reid and Aaron Cresswell and first-team stars Adrian, Manuel Lanzini and Andy Carroll.

New signings Sofiane Feghouli, Havard Nordtveit, Toni Martinez and Domingos Quina were also in the group which flew across the Atlantic Ocean with British Airways on Saturday, touching down at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport a little more than ten hours later.
Through tours like this, we can give our overseas supporters a chance to see their heroes in the flesh, and win over even more new fans for the future
Vice-Chairman Karren Brady said the US Tour was further illustration of the Club’s continued and rapid growth on the global stage.

“West Ham’s global fanbase is expanding further with each passing year,” said the Vice-Chairman. “Through tours like this, we can give our overseas supporters a chance to see their heroes in the flesh, and win over even more new fans for the future.

“Next season is going to be a hugely exciting and important one for West Ham, as we begin a new era in our magnificent new Stadium, and there will be no better way to prepare than with a successful tour of the United States, and games against strong American opposition.

“The Seattle Sounders are renowned throughout America for the passion and loyalty of their fans, so we already have a lot in common, as well as our shared history of former players. We look forward to visiting the Emerald City, and strengthening our ties with the United States still further.”

West Ham will begin their trip with a day of acclimatisation in Seattle, where they will visit the world-famous Space Needle before heading to Safeco Field for the Major League Baseball fixture between the hometown Mariners and Baltimore Orioles.

Sunday will see the Hammers get down to the hard work, with a double training session scheduled at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

While the majority of Americans will be on holiday on Monday 4 July for the Independence Day holiday, the West Ham squad will have another double session in preparation for Tuesday’s opening pre-season match with the Sounders as the impressive CenturyLink Field.

For full details of West Ham’s 2016 US Tour click here.