West Ham United women's team have paid tribute to our former manager Matt Beard, who sadly passed away last weekend, in our Official Programme for our Barclays Women's Super League match with Chelsea on Sunday.
Beard joined us in the summer of 2018 ahead of our first season in the Women’s Super League. He led us to the final of the Women’s FA Cup at Wembley in May 2019 and helped build the foundations for our recent success.
He also enjoyed three years at Sunday's opponents Chelsea, and guided them to a Women's FA Cup final in 2012.
As well as appearing on the front of the Official Programme, heartfelt tributes are paid to Beard inside, including from his former West Ham players and Jack Sullivan, who was Managing Director of the women’s team whilst Beard was in charge.
One of the players that Beard managed during his time at the Hammers was Rosie Kmita, who scored the winner in our first-ever WSL victory in September 2018.
She's the next interview in our Irons Icons series, and she discusses her journey from playing in the parks of Enfield to playing at Wembley with West Ham, as well as her memories of working under Beard.
Elsewhere, we sit down with our No19 Shekiera Martinez, who talks about how she almost quit football at the age of 12 and how she's enjoying London life with her two toy poodles!
We also hear from Rehanne Skinner and Katrina Gorry ahead of the clash with Chelsea as well as from the Foundation, and the success of their charity football tournament at The Foundry with R;pple.
Programmes will be available to purchase at the match from sellers located inside the ground, priced at just £3. Supporters can also order their programme online for home delivery if they can't make it to Chigwell Construction Stadium, by clicking HERE!
A seasonal subscription package is also available to UK and Ireland customers only! This package covers eleven home WSL fixtures during the 2025/26 campaign, and all domestic cup editions.
All of the issues will be produced to a schedule that allows for a first-class mail out on the Friday before a weekend fixture, or on the day of the game for midweek fixtures, so subscribers should expect their orders to arrive no longer than three working days after the match.
The price for this treasured collection is just £45, click HERE to get yours!
Buy your tickets for our derby with Chelsea by clicking HERE!
