West Ham United U18s v Birmingham City U18s
U18 Premier League South, Little Heath Training Ground, Saturday 23 August 2025, 12noon BST
West Ham United U18s are set to contest their first home match of the new campaign at Little Heath Training Ground against Premier League South newcomers Birmingham City on Saturday, with both teams looking to set the record straight following opening-weekend defeats.
How To Follow…
A report and post-match reaction will be available on the Club’s website and app following the final whistle, with highlights to follow.
Opposition…
Birmingham City U18s are one of three new teams joining the U18 Premier League this season, alongside Burnley and Ipswich Town, all of whom achieved Category One status in 2025.
The young Blues enjoyed an encouraging pre-season, drawing with Exeter City and registering wins over Budapest Honvéd B, Leicester City, Sunderland and senior outfit Bromsgrove Sporting. However, their league campaign began in disappointing fashion with a heavy 8-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace.
Birmingham enter their debut U18 Premier League season having previously lifted the Professional Development League title in 2023/24, before finishing ninth in the northern division last term.
Ones To Watch...
Celebrating his 17th birthday this week, Northern Ireland youth international Callum Leacock was handed the captain’s armband for the young Hammers’ first league game of the season at Southampton. Signed from NIFL champions Linfield this summer, Leacock is an excellent one-on-one defender with an attitude to match.
For Birmingham City, Louie Rea has been on the scoresheet multiple times for the U18s throughout pre-season. Signing his professional deal in September 2024, Rea is described as a physical and energetic box-to-box midfielder who loves to arrive late in goalscoring positions.
The Story So Far…
Our U18s had a busy pre-season schedule, which included trips to York and Prague. During that period, they played seven matches in total, registering wins over Leeds United, Salford City and Northampton Town, draws against Liverpool and NEXTGEN CUP winners FC Midtjylland U19s, while falling to narrow defeats against SK Slavia Praha U19s and Rangers U19s.
Lauris Coggin's U18s then kicked off their competitive campaign last weekend against 2024/25 Premier League South runners-up Southampton, where first-half goals from Leo Umeh and Korban McMullan condemned the young Hammers to a 2-0 defeat at Staplewood Training Ground.
U18 Premier League South
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Southampton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Fulham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Reading | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 11 | Norwich City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 12 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 13 | West Ham United | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 14 | Ipswich Town | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 0 |
| 15 | Birmingham City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 0 |
