West Ham Poland
Chairperson: Łukasz Papuda (Founder), Piotr Świtalski (Chief Editor)
Founded: 2 April 2006
Based: Poland
Twitter: @whufc_pl
Facebook: @whufcpl
Instagram: west_ham_poland
Website: whufc.pl
How did your Supporters' Club begin?
In 2005/06 season, my friend and I were fascinated by Alan Pardew's team and their exciting first campaign following promotion from the Championship, especially the time between February and March. We fell in love with West Ham when Anton Ferdinand scored an absolute screamer in the January game against Fulham, then the Hammers defeated Arsenal in a crazy match at Highbury. We started to read more about the team and decided to create whufc.pl – a platform connecting Polish West Ham fans all around the world. It turned out that there are a lot of us!
Have you always been a West Ham supporter?
I fell in love with West Ham when I was 16. Since then, West Ham has been the only club I support. Before 2006, just like other kids, I enjoyed football a lot and I was cheering for big clubs like Barcelona. I also attended Hetman Zamość games quite regularly – a local football club from my hometown. They used to play in the Polish Second Division in their prime, but are now in the sixth tier.
How do you follow the Hammers on a matchday?
Every matchday is like Christmas for us, but also a lot of work for our editorial team led by Piotrek Świtalski. Pre-match analysis, reports from the press conferences, matchday news – you can see it all on our website. The game itself is a time of lively discussions on social media, but also taking notes for the post-match articles or podcast that we publish every week.
Of course, some of us watch the games in pubs or in the stadium. There are a lot of West Ham Poland people living in the UK, so we are represented well at every game.
How can other supporters join your Supporters' Club?
It's very easy since we don't have any official requirements. Just visit our website or social media channels and start interacting with us. It's an inclusive community that anyone can join. There is only one condition – you need to love West Ham.
