West Ham have become involved in a new row about the use of the London Stadium, which could turn legal.
Under the 2013 concessionaire agreement, West Ham is allowed to play up to 25 competitive games at the London Stadium in return for an annual usage fee.
The index-linked usage fee has inflated from £2.5m in 2016 to £4.5m each year in 2025, meaning each of the 25 games costs West Ham around £180,000 per match.
Development games and pre-season friendlies are covered separately in the agreement.
West Ham want to use one of those twenty-five competitive games to play a West Ham Women’s WSL League game, which is mandated by regulations, but the London Stadium owners are refusing to allow it.
The London Stadium, which is now owned by Greater London Authority Holding, want to charge West Ham an additional six-figure sum to stage a WSL game, denying use of the quota for this purpose.
The legal contract written in 2013, which has been continuously challenged in the British courts by West Ham and others, is mute on the subject of whether the included competitive game quota has to be men’s or women’s.
The Hammers’ legal team have an almost 100% record in challenging the London Stadium owners time and again in court.
Last year, West Ham won an expert determination relating to the share premium due after Daniel Kretinsky invested in West Ham in 2021.
That resulted in the stadium owners returning millions to West Ham, plus interest and legal costs.
The London Stadium owners need to think long and hard before they battle West Ham again in court.
Hopefully, the London Mayor will get involved to see sense and agree that the loss-making women’s team and women’s game in general should be celebrated and promoted as part of a community pledge of the London Stadium.
Update:
The West Ham United Fan Advisory Board (FAB) have written to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, urging his support for West Ham United Women to play matches at the London Stadium.
Representing a broad coalition of supporter groups, the FAB highlighted from the recent supporter-led survey that of the 7,187 supporters who responded to the question ‘ Should West Ham United Women play at the London Stadium?’ 52.44% wanted to see the team play at least one match per season at the London Stadium. The FAB also called for a fair and sustainable approach to hosting matches at the London Stadium. In their letter, they praised the Mayor’s leadership on championing women’s sport and urged City Hall to ensure that match quotas and cost structures for the London Stadium do not act as barriers to progress.
“We believe it’s time for West Ham Women to take their rightful place at the London Stadium,” said Andy Payne OBE, Co-chair of the Fan West Ham Fan Advisory Board Calls on Mayor of London to Back Women’s Football at London StadiumAdvisory Board. “The appetite is there, the fanbase is ready, and with the right support from City Hall and stakeholders, we can make this a landmark moment—not just for West Ham, but for women’s football in London.”
The FAB stressed the importance of equality and opportunity in sport, calling current financial expectations placed on clubs to host women’s matches “unrealistic and unfair.” They pointed to the growing success of women’s football around the country and said London should be leading the way, not lagging behind.
“This is about more than one match,” the statement continued. “It’s about sending a message that London is serious about equality, inclusion, and the next generation of football fans and players.”
The Fan Advisory Board’s call comes with the backing of a wide range of West Ham supporter groups, including Hammers United, Pride of Irons, West Ham United Disabled Supporters’ Association, West Ham United Supporters’ Trust, Old School Hammers, Inclusive Irons, Claret Members, Overseas Supporters’ Clubs, West Ham United Women’s Supporters’ Board, West Ham United Junior Supporters’ Board, Away Season Ticket Holders, Bondholders and West Ham United Supporters’ Club.
What I find staggering, is that only 52% of nearly 8,000 people want to see at least one West Ham Women’s match being played at the LS. Why? What possible reason would the other 48% have against such a thing? What harm does it do to let them??
It’s disgraceful and shameful on those who would wish to deny our ladies the opportunity. West Ham is a family (despite what our board think) and our fanbase should be backing the ladies too.
“West Ham IS allowed”, you mean West Ham ARE allowed, its a team, a plurality, the IS you’ll find is an Americanism.
We have to pay anyhow because the women’s game is not financially strong enough without subsidies
Should have dismantled the upper tiers after the olympics as was the original plan and left it as a 25000 seater athletics stadium. Then we could have built a brand new football stadium for West Ham next door or somewhere else on the Olympic park.
What a heartless, soulless and groundless club we’ve become since leaving the Boleyn no longer the able to control our own destiny. What a total embarrassment we’ve become and when you think it can’t get any worse, they sign Callum Wilson, how short sighted and incompetent club we’ve become, no direction, principals or ambition. Sullivan, Brady and there stooges should hang there head’s in shame for this never ending circus.
Weird that our landlord treats us like the enemy, even when without us they have nothing but an empty Athletics stadium!!
It doesn’t help that our Vice Chairman and the London Mayor don’t get on due to their politics