West Ham United fly out to India this week to take part in the 2023 Premier League Next Generation Cup, which will take place in Mumbai.
An U19s squad featuring many of the players who won the FA Youth Cup and U18 Premier League South division double will head across the globe next week to compete in the third edition of the tournament.
The Hammers actually won the last version of the competition, held on home soil last summer, thanks to a comeback victory over Crystal Palace and a resounding defeat of Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the tournament, as well as how you can follow along and catch the action in India.
Who will be representing West Ham United in India?
The Hammers’ squad is made up of a mixture of players from the teams U21s and U19s squad. Players born between 01/09/2003 and 31/08/2004 are eligible to play for the three Premier League sides.
Archie Woods and Jamal Baptiste, along with the majority of Kevin Keen’s U18s squad will be making the trip. A full squad list can be found below.
West Ham United’s Premier League Next Gen Cup Squad: Mason Terry; Regan Clayton, Sean Tarima, Billy Bates, Jamal Baptiste, Kaelan Casey, Josh Briggs, Oli Scarles, Ryan Battrum; Dan Rigge, Liam Jones, Archie Woods, Tyron Akpata, Lewis Orford, George Earthy, Favour Fawunmi; Blaise Uwandji, Gideon Kodua.
Who will the Hammers face?
West Ham United U19s are in Group A for the Premier League Next Gen Cup, and will come up against Stellenbosch FC of South Africa, as well as Indian sides Bengaluru FC and ATK Mohun Bagan.
On the other side of the competition in Group B, Premier League sides Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers will battle it out for top spot alongside RF Young Champs and Sudeva Delhi FC.
The four Indian sides qualified from a rigorous campaign that saw over 300 matches take place in nine regions of the country. All four of the Indian sides as well as Stellenbosch will be using their U21 sides rather than their U19s.
When and where will the games take place?
There will be three group stage matches which will decide who comes out on top! The Hammers take on ATK Mohun Bagan in their opening game on Wednesday 17 May at 4pm local time (11:30am BST)
Three days later, On Saturday 20 May, they will take on Bengaluru at 8pm local time (3:30pm BST), before rounding off the group stage fixtures against Stellenbosch on Tuesday 23 May at 4pm local time (11:30am BST).
If the Irons are successful and top their group, they will face the winner of Group B in the Grand Final on Friday 26 May, with kick off scheduled for 5pm local time (12:30pm BST).
If they do not top the group, then they will still play one more fixture before heading back to England, with each team facing off against the side that also finished in the same position in the group standings (2nd v 2nd, 3rd v 3rd, 4th v 4th). These matches will take place a day earlier on Thursday 25 May, with a kick off time to be confirmed once the group stage concludes.
All Premier League Next Gen Cup matches are taking place at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai and will only be 70 minutes in length (35 minutes a half) to help with the heat.
How can I watch the games?
It is expected that all of West Ham United's matches will be available to watch live on the Premier League Facebook and YouTube channels, as well as the Indian Super League Facebook channel.
In addition, we will be providing match reports and exclusive reaction, as well as highlights on whufc.com.
