We believe this has been a pivotal year in establishing Hammers United as not only the largest independent supporters’ group at West Ham, but a group with a clear vision and purpose.
As joint secretaries we have worked closely with our chairman, the committee and our extended network, to define the core values of Hammers United. These core values allowed us to develop a short, medium and long-term strategy.
Upon its inception, Hammers United undertook a simple mission:
‘To improve things for all West Ham supporters’
This statement will always guide us and those supporters will always be the people who make this group what it is and the only people to whom we are accountable.
We simply exist, to represent you.
However, as the group has evolved and membership has grown, our specific priorities have emerged; it has become clear that detailed objectives were needed to underpin this aim.
We have always felt connected to the fanbase, but we had to begin by truly understanding our membership.
After many months of meetings, emails, conversations and drafts across the committee, working groups and in conjunction with the Football Supporters Association, we had a survey which we felt would provide us with the foundation that we needed. We opened this to members of other supporters’ groups and those who were not members of any FSA-affiliated association. We value the opinion of every West Ham supporter.
The survey launched in December 2020, and with the country in lockdown, we were reliant solely on social media to drive engagement. We are grateful to the many, many websites, influencers, content producers and individuals who helped us. We were delighted to attract responses from well over five thousand West Ham United supporters, half of whom were not members of HU. We received invaluable support from the FSA in ensuring the survey was without bias, and they were astounded by the number of responses we managed to achieve.
We had now data that we could rely on.
To utilise this data, we needed to understand it and we needed a vehicle to engage the club with that understanding.
That vehicle was launched early in 2021, with the creation of the Independent Supporters’ Committee. Hammers United played a key part in bringing together all FSA-affiliated West Ham groups under one Memorandum of Understanding that was officially accepted by the club. This sets out how the collective of the ISC will engage with the club.
The ISC is an independent body that represents West Ham supporters in discussions with the club, over the supporter experience. The memorandum of understanding was the product of many months of hard work behind the scenes. Special thanks, from a Hammers United perspective, must go to Doc and Tross for their tireless commitment to bringing this to fruition.
We now had reliable data and a solid construct for engagement with the club.
The final part of the jigsaw and an achievement we are extremely proud of was launched in March 2021. Having carried out extensive research, surveyed our fanbase and held numerous sessions with our network to explore proposed content, we were able to launch our supporter vision.
The Vision is built on six distinct principles with an overarching goal of clearly defining what is important to West Ham United supporters and rebuilding the supporter experience at the club.
You can read the full supporter vision here.
The six principles at the heart of our vision, for what we are striving to achieve are:
Responsibility and Trust
What is ownership when it comes to a football club and who decides its direction?
Owners are custodians of a football club belonging to its supporters. They must acknowledge and respect their position of responsibility and trust and work with supporters accordingly. A supporter’s interest is not fleeting, it transcends generations. Supporters should understand and advocate everything that a club is setting out to achieve. Those who make decisions on their behalf should involve supporters, respect and value their relationship with them and set out a strategy that has the best interests of supporters at its heart.
West Ham supporters value their connection to their club, everything about the supporter experience, a level of effort from their players and a respect for all domestic competitions. They want owners that they can trust to run their club properly, owners who will uphold its reputation and owners who will be accountable to supporters.
Identity and Heritage
What is West Ham United, what does it mean to people and what does it stand for?
The identity of a football club is rooted in its history and heritage. This is cherished by supporters. Supporters love to share memories of players they watched and the family they watched them with. They love to reminisce about the badges and the colours they wore. Every element of pride should be respected and preserved. The identity of a club needs to be defined from these experiences and the culture needs to be celebrated. Supporters should be able to live and breathe this identity and their club should do the same.
West Ham supporters value our crest, our home, our history and our heroes. This heritage allows us to understand our culture and develop it by building upon what is considered to be important as we evolve.
Stadium and Experience
How can you meaningfully affect the design and atmosphere of a stadium?
A stadium is where supporters come together to share their passion, express their emotions and enjoy the match day experience. Our home ground should reflect our identity and culture, it should celebrate our history and heritage. It should be intimate and atmospheric. It should be inspiring and intimidating. It should be a place we are proud to call our home. It should be a football stadium fit for purpose and something we admire. And it should be ours.
West Ham supporters create the atmosphere, but a stadium amplifies and accentuates it. The proximity of the supporters to the pitch, the connection between sections of the ground, the enclosed nature of a stadium and the groups of supporters who have forged relationships over the years allow a stadium to enhance an atmosphere.
Community and Supporters
What is the role of a football club, what is its influence and what can it give to a local community?
A football club should be a focal point. It must be a source of pride and prosperity for its local community. A football club is in a privileged position to serve its supporters and its local community. In protecting and delivering an authentic experience by supporting the local community a club will, in turn, serve its wider community of supporters. Supporters want to see local businesses thrive and local people offered opportunities. Supporters want everyone in a local community to feel part of their club and to be proud of its location.
West Ham supporters, wherever they are from, value east London and the people who call it home. Local sellers should be encouraged to trade on a matchday, while local people should be encouraged to come to work at a club and a local area should thrive.
Service and Loyalty
How can a football club ensure its supporters feel like they are more than just customers?
The supporter should be valued. A supporter’s loyalty is unwavering. Supporters follow one team, through thick and thin. Clubs should prioritise an appreciation of that loyalty when it comes to operations such as ticketing, transport, stewarding, merchandise and the experience of the travelling fan. A club is nothing without its supporters and a club must appreciate that at all times. Supporters simply want to follow their team, from near or afar.
West Ham supporters value ticketing transparency, matchday staff who understand us and the little touches that cater for people’s needs. A club has a responsibility to truly value a supporter’s loyalty beyond simply monetising it for financial gain.
Engagement and Communication
How can you welcome and value the opinion of supporters and what should you talk to them about?
Supporters are emotionally connected to their football club. They are affected by the football but they are also impacted by the trust in the relationship they have with their club in every other sense. Supporters crave understanding from a single source of truth. Supporters deserve respect, not contempt. Consultation with supporters should be open and inclusive, club communications should be sensitive and transparent, while media with a range of perspectives should be welcomed. A supporters’ group is a demonstration of unity and a collective voice, and this should be valued and harnessed.
West Ham supporters want to be heard. Genuine engagement with supporters’ groups is vital and we feel representation at board level is necessary.
Service and Loyalty
How can a football club ensure its supporters feel like they are more than just customers?
The supporter should be valued; their loyalty is unwavering. They follow one team, through thick and thin. Clubs should prioritise an appreciation of that loyalty when it comes to operations such as ticketing, transport, stewarding, merchandise and the experience of the travelling fan. A club is nothing without its supporters and should appreciate that at all times. Supporters simply want to follow their team, from near or afar.
West Ham United fans value ticketing transparency, matchday staff who understand us, and the little touches that cater to our needs. A club has a responsibility to truly value a loyalty beyond simply monetising it for financial gain.
Engagement and Communication
How can you welcome and value the opinion of supporters and what should you talk to them about?
Supporters are emotionally connected to their football club. They are affected by the football but they are also impacted by the trust in the relationship they have with their club in every other sense. They crave understanding from a single source of truth. Supporters deserve respect, not contempt. Consultation with supporters should be open and inclusive, club communications should be sensitive and transparent, while media with a range of perspectives should be welcomed. A supporters’ group is a demonstration of unity and a collective voice, and this should be valued and harnessed.
West Ham fans want to be heard. Genuine engagement with supporter’s groups is vital and we feel representation at board level is necessary.
We feel this gives us the detailed objectives that define our overall aim and allow us to truly represent West Ham supporters. The chairman’s report lays out some of the initiatives that are already up and running as we continue to strive to achieve our ultimate goal:
‘To improve things for all West Ham supporters’
Right now, the GSB OUT campaign must continue: this is what our members see as their top priority.
Work has also begun on exploring the options for improving the London Stadium and bringing local businesses and sellers back to a matchday. Other aspects of the overall experience, such as ticketing, that need our attention continue to be determined by our members as we progress.
Looking ahead, we hope to work closely with new ownership to bring about change in the areas explained in our vision.
We can only reiterate our thanks to everyone who has helped us get to where we are and express how honoured we are to represent such a special fanbase.
Come on You Irons.
Hammers United Joint Secretaries
