West Ham United men’s first-team squad hit the pristine pitches at Rutgers University for their first training session in the United States on Thursday.
The Hammers were the guests of the Scarlet Knights, who welcomed Head Coach Graham Potter and his players to their state-of-the-art Miller Family Practice Complex.
With temperatures hovering around 80F (26C), the sun shining bright in the sky and a gentle breeze blowing, conditions were perfect for the 90-minute workout in the pretty township of Piscataway, New Jersey.
The Scarlet Knights have a storied soccer history, having produced two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner and Olympic Gold medallist and two-time FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd and former United States men’s national team great Alexi Lalas, who famously starred at the USA ‘94 FIFA World Cup - both of whom were honoured with large portraits on the walls - and been regular qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament
Rutgers was also the venue of the first-ever intercollegiate American football match against Princeton University in 1869, so has a unique and special place in US sporting history.
This week, Rutgers welcomed West Ham, having done likewise for Paris Saint-Germain and FC Porto during the recent FIFA Club World Cup, when both played at MetLife Stadium a few miles north in East Rutherford. Members of the college’s current men’s team, also in pre-season, were invited to watch the Hammers training.
On Thursday, fitness coaches Jordan Smith and Callum Foster led the players through their activation and warm-up drills, and goalkeeper coaches Casper Ankergren and Linus Kandolin worked with their four stoppers, before Potter and coaches Billy Reid, Bruno and Narcís Pèlach took the whole group for the second part of the session on the pitch.
The work was completed by a warm-down session indoors in the gym, where the players rode exercise bikes, before showering and heading back to the team hotel for a lunch and a well-earned rest and recovery.
The Irons landed on America’s east coast on Wednesday afternoon for a 12-day, three-match and three-city trip that will see them compete in the 2025 Premier League Summer Series.
The Summer Series will kick-off at 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium – the venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final – with a mouthwatering game against Manchester United on Saturday 26 July at 7pm ET (12 midnight in the UK).
The Londoners will head to the 61,500-capacity Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, to face Everton on Wednesday 30 July, before completing an exciting hat-trick of matches by taking on AFC Bournemouth at the 71,000-capacity Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, which is also a host city for next year's World Cup, on Sunday 3 August. The iconic host stadia are home to the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons respectively.
Tickets for all three matches remain on General Sale HERE, with supporters now able to save 20% on select seats by using the code PLSS20.
