West Ham United showed its Christmas spirit as both the Men’s and Women’s teams marked ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ at London Stadium.
Christmas Jumper Day is more than just a celebration of the festive season, it is also a key moment to raise vital funds and awareness for Save The Children. Since its launch in 2012, the initiative has raised over £30 million for children in the UK and around the world facing serious issues like war, hunger and poverty. Both the Men’s and Women’s First Team’s showed their support for the campaign by posing for squad photos at London Stadium where they proudly sported the Hammers new Christmas jumper range. To find out more about Save The Children and Christmas Jumper Day visit www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day/about.
It’s not too late for Hammers fans to join the festive fun in claret and blue with the club launching a range of matching Christmas jumpers, pyjamas and other merchandise for fans of all ages, including pets as well!
For a truly unique and special gift for a football fan, the club are auctioning signed match-worn shirts and special walk-out tops adorning Michail Antonio’s name from the Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night. All proceeds raised from the auction of these collectors items will be split between the NHS and Air Ambulances UK Charity, whose expertise supported the Hammers striker following his road traffic accident last Saturday. All proceeds will also be matched by the Club’s Board. The auction, along with all other Christmas gifts, can be found by visiting shop.whufc.com/.
To get into the Christmas spirit and give back to younger fans, the club recently launched the ‘My West Ham Christmas Wish Campaign’ which encouraged supporters to post a letter at any of the club’s in-store locations. Youngsters shared a wide range of West Ham Christmas wishes whilst detailing why their Christmas wish should come true. In the coming days, the Hammers will be making several young supporters’ dreams come true by delivering a number of their Christmas gifts to fans ahead of the big day.
Elsewhere, the club continues to demonstrate its commitment to the local community with a wide range of initiatives launched for Christmas to help those who need it most during what can be a difficult time of the year. The club has once again teamed up with Irons Supporting Foodbanks, with Hammers Polish duo Łukasz Fabiański and Kinga Szemik, alongside Irons Supporting Foodbanks founder John Ratomski, recently visiting Community Food Enterprise, a Newham-based charity, to sort through a £2,000 pallet of food that had been donated by Hammers fans on matchdays.
Fans can show their support for the Irons Supporting Foodbanks by dropping donations to support the campaign at the Stadium Store seven days a week, including on matchdays, in the build-up to the Christmas period. Over the last three years, more than £250,000 worth of food has been donated and Irons Supporting Foodbanks are set to hit their target they set at the beginning of the year: to provide 20 tonnes of food (£80,000 worth) throughout 2024 to those in need. More details on Irons Supporting Foodbanks work can be found here.
Additionally the coming days will see players and staff from the Hammers Men’s and Women’s First Team visiting children in hospitals to spread some Christmas cheer. The always popular visits provide some relief and joy during what can be an extremely challenging time for young children and their families. These initiatives are in addition to the year round services provided by the West Ham United Foundation who support people of all ages and backgrounds in east London and beyond.
