West Ham United

West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Since 2016, the team has played at the London Stadium, a venue originally built for the 2012 Olympic Games with a capacity of approximately 62,500. Before that, the club spent 112 years at the Boleyn Ground in Upton Park.

Founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC, the club was a works team for employees of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. In 1900, it reformed as West Ham United. The club joined the Football League in 1919 and reached the top flight for the first time in 1923, the same year it lost the first FA Cup final held at Wembley. West Ham is one of only eight English clubs never to have fallen below the second tier, having spent 68 of its 100 league seasons in the top flight through the 2025-26 season.

The club has won five major honours: the FA Cup three times (1964, 1975, 1980), the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965, and the UEFA Conference League in 2023. Three West Ham players — Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, and Martin Peters — were key members of England's 1966 World Cup-winning team. The club's anthem, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," has been sung by fans since the 1920s, and its crest features crossed hammers reflecting its industrial heritage. [edit]

The club's roots trace to June 29, 1895, when Thames Ironworks FC was founded by Arnold Hills, managing director of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. The team turned professional in 1898 to compete in the Southern League, but when the company became public and could no longer support the team, Thames Ironworks FC closed in June 1900. A new club, West Ham United FC, was incorporated by Hills on July 5, 1900, retaining many of the original Ironworks players. In 1904, the club moved to the Boleyn Ground, adopting the claret and sky blue kit that has become iconic.

After joining the Football League in 1919, West Ham gained promotion to the First Division in 1923 and reached the FA Cup final that year, losing to Bolton Wanderers at the newly built Wembley Stadium. The club won its first major trophy in 1964, beating Preston North End 3-2 in the FA Cup final under manager Ron Greenwood. The following year, West Ham won the European Cup Winners' Cup, defeating 1860 Munich 2-0 at Wembley. Greenwood's side also reached the final of the League Cup in 1966, losing to West Bromwich Albion.

John Lyall took over as manager in 1974 and led the club to FA Cup glory in 1975, beating Fulham 2-0. West Ham reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final again in 1976 but lost 4-2 to Anderlecht. Lyall's side won a third FA Cup in 1980, defeating Arsenal 1-0. The club's highest league finish came in 1985-86, when it finished third in the First Division. After relegation in 1989, West Ham spent several seasons in the second tier before returning to the Premier League in 1993.

The club won the Intertoto Cup in 1999 and reached the FA Cup final in 2006, losing to Liverpool on penalties. In 2016, West Ham moved to the London Stadium, a controversial decision that divided fans. Under manager David Moyes, the club won the UEFA Conference League in 2023, its first major European trophy in 58 years, beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final. The 2025-26 season began poorly, with a heavy opening-day loss putting pressure on manager Graham Potter, who had replaced Julen Lopetegui. [edit]