West Ham United have touched down in the USA as they prepare to compete in the inaugural The Soccer Tournament (TST).
The Irons have sent a stellar squad to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina for the $1million, winner-takes-all, 7v7 world championship event, which will pit 32 teams from across the globe in competition between 1-4 June.
A host of Hammers legends including Carlton Cole, Marlon Harewood, Matt Jarvis and Jimmy Walker feature in a squad that has been dubbed one of the favourites to win the event.
Among the other clubs taking part are Borussia Dortmund, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wrexham Red Dragons, Club Necaxa of Mexico, Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel, Como of Italy and Spencer Owen’s Hashtag United.
The Irons get their TST campaign underway in Group D on Thursday and have taken part in the first training session shortly after touching down in the USA.
The @tst7v7 squad training in 🇺🇸
— West Ham United US (@WestHam_US) May 31, 2023
Getting used to that North Carolina HEAT. 😎 pic.twitter.com/O9JbwrukzF
Apprentice and Celebrity MasterChef star, TV personality and Hammers supporter Tom Skinner is managing the team at TST and said everyone is looking forward to it.
He said: “We are all buzzing to be here in North Carolina and you can see the lads are really up for this.
“We know that the Hammers are the team to beat and everyone will be targeting us out here, but we are really confident and looking to get our hands on that $1million prize.
“Make sure you Irons fans are all tuning in to watch because this is a quality team that you don’t want to miss! It’s a dream come true for me to be the manager.”
West Ham will play twice on Thursday 1 June. They will first come up against Far East United (10.30am EDT/3.30pm BST) before facing Dallas United (6.30pm EDT/11.30pm BST).
The group stage will then conclude for the east London side on Friday 2 June against Culture By Mo Ali FC (10.30am EDT / 3.30pm BST).
All three group-stage matches will be streamed live globally (except the United States), on the Club's website, app and YouTube channel. In the US, the games will broadcast on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming platform.
To find out more about TST and buy tickets, visit www.TheTournament.com/TST, or follow The Soccer Tournament on Twitter.
