West Ham United brought a Claret and Blue flavour to the USA on Monday evening, as they began their preparations for The Soccer Tournament (TST) - the eagerly-anticipated 7v7 world championship event taking place this week in Cary, North Carolina.
Led by Head Coach Dillon Vedral and Player-Coach Anton Ferdinand, the Hammers took on German side Borussia Dortmund in a pre-tournament friendly encounter at Bandwidth HQ - home of one of North Carolina’s biggest technology and software companies.
Hero bleeds Claret & Blue ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/Ex3ORHbjOH
— West Ham United US (@WestHam_US) June 3, 2025
Hundreds of employees and their families and friends turned out to cheer on the two sides as they warmed up for the $1million, winner-takes-all competition, featuring 48 teams from around the world competing between 4-9 June at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC, for the high-stakes prize and the right to be crowned TST champions.
In a closely-fought and entertaining affair, the Hammers came from behind to win 2-1, thanks to two late goals from striker Justin Stinson. Spectators were then treated to a fun penalty shoot-out, with Hollywood star and lifelong Hammers fan Hero Fiennes Tiffin firing home the winning spot-kick.
Former Premier League stars Mauro Zárate and Ricardo Vaz Tê both impressed as they pulled on the Claret and Blue shirt again, and, after the game, players mingled with fans, posing for photographs and signing autographs, with many of the crowd declaring their support for the team at TST this week.
The Hammers will kick-off their group stage matches against Brown Ballers FC on Wednesday 4 June at 9.30am EST (2.30pm BST) - a match you can watch live on the Club's official YouTube channel.
