James Collins will represent West Ham United at The Soccer Tournament (TST), the $1 million, winner-takes-all, 7v7 world championship taking place in the United States in June.
Former Wales international Collins, who was fondly nicknamed ‘The Ginger Pelé’ by the Claret and Blue Army during his time in east London, will form part of the Hammers’ squad in North Carolina.
There, the Irons will be among 48 teams featuring legends, sportspeople, celebrities and influencers from all over the world.
West Ham United’s TST squad is led by player-coach Anton Ferdinand and actor and Irons superfan Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and they have been drawn in Group G alongside La Liga’s Villarreal CF, Tenfifteen FC and Brown Ballers FC.
Collins made over 200 appearances for the Club across two spells between 2005 and 2018, becoming a true fans’ favourite for his courageous, no-nonsense defending, striking appearance and scoring a number of important goals.
He was part of the squad which reached the FA Cup final in 2006, and later the squad which re-established the Hammers in the Premier League in the early to mid-2010s and bid farewell to the Boleyn Ground in style in 2015/16. Collins joins former teammates Ricardo Vaz Tê and Mauro Zárate in the squad for TST.
Keep an eye on our channels for further player announcements before the big TST kick-off against Brown Ballers FC at 9.30am EST (2.30pm BST) on Wednesday 4 June.
Our second group-stage match will take place later the same day, against Villarreal CF, kicking-off at 5.30pm EST (10.30pm BST). Our third group-stage game, against Tenfifteen FC, is scheduled for Thursday 5 June at 10am EST (3pm BST).
All three of West Ham’s group-stage games will be shown live on the Club's official YouTube channel, with streaming available to all fans outside the USA for the Villarreal and Tenfifteen fixtures, and to supporters worldwide for the Brown Ballers clash. Those in the US will be able to watch the Villarreal and Tenfifteen matches live on ESPNU.
The top two teams from each group and the eight third-place teams with the highest points totals (32 total teams) will advance to the knockout stage, which will commence on 6 June. Round of 16 and quarter-final games will both be played on Saturday 7 June. Semi-finals will take place on the evening of Sunday 8 June and the $1 million championship game at 8.30pm EST on Monday 9 June (1.30am BST on Tuesday 10 June) on ESPNU.
In addition to West Ham, TST’s 48-team men’s field also includes international clubs Atlético Madrid, AFC Bournemouth, Borussia Dortmund, Wrexham and Cagliari Calcio.
Additional celebrity participants in this year’s tournament include Sergio Agüero (Seleccion Potrero), Nani (Nani FC) and former NFL star and podcaster Pat McAfee (The CONCAFA SC), among many others.
To find out more about TST or to purchase tickets, visit TheTournament.com/TST, or follow The Soccer Tournament on X and Instagram at @TST7v7.
