West Ham United have been spreading Christmas spirit across east London this week, with a whole host of community activity taking place with the Men’s, Women’s and Academy players at the heart of the festivities.
Tuesday afternoon saw Men’s and Women’s First Team players provide plenty of smiles on faces as they surprised 100s of patients, staff and their families through the Club’s traditional visits to hospital wards across east London.
Players including Jarrod Bowen, Alphonse Areola, Tomáš Souček, Anna Csiki, Eva Nyström, and Seraina Piubel, were joined by several of their Hammers teammates at local hospitals including Newham Hospital, Queens Hospital, Romford King George Hospital, Ilford, in addition to a visit St Francis Hospice, Romford earlier this month. The visits all supported and brightened the days of the patients, staff and their families in what can be a challenging time of year.
The players and staff took the opportunity to spend time with patients, taking lots of selfies and photos with families and staff and hearing about everyone’s plans for Christmas. In the festive spirit, goody bags containing plenty of West Ham presents were also handed out, which saw plenty of smiles on faces throughout a heartwarming afternoon.
Men’s team Captain, Jarrod Bowen shared what it means to him to visit patients and staff at King George Hospital in Ilford:
“It’s really important as a Club, being a family orientated Club, it is what we pride ourselves on, looking out for everyone in our community. It’s a difficult time for people being in hospital at Christmas but if we can come here and lift their spirits, it’s a great thing.
“The work that the NHS staff do is also incredible, we met some lovely caring people who really enjoyed us being here, so to meet them was really special.”
Women’s team midfielder, Anna Csiki said:
“I really enjoyed visiting Queen’s Hospital today. I’m glad that we were able to put smiles on the children’s faces and give them some gifts ahead of Christmas, and to also speak and meet the staff who are working so hard during a busy time of year.
“It puts everything into perspective for us as players as well. It’s important that we give back and support our local community and I’m pleased we could do that today.”
Deputy Chief Nurse and Site Director of Nursing at King George Hospital, Anna Page said:
“It was great to have West Ham United visit King George Hospital and spread some Christmas cheer for our patients and our staff, it really helps lift everyone’s spirits.
“I would like to thank the club for coming in and for their generous presents. We had lots of happy faces across the wards.”
Fiona Miller Smith, Chief Executive of Barts Charity, added:
“It’s amazing to see so many West Ham players heading down to Newham Hospital to give patients and staff a festive thrill this year. This annual event is a wonderful example of people from across our East London community coming together to be there for people who need a helping hand – be they nurses, doctors or football players. Our hospitals are at the heart of our East London community all-year round – and we are so grateful for all the staff who are here for us over the holidays.”
Simon Ashton, Chief Executive at Newham Hospital also shared his gratitude: “We are incredibly thankful to the West Ham players for taking the time to visit us at Newham hospital. Their time and generosity put huge smiles on everyone’s faces and gave our staff a much-needed morale boost during this busy festive period.”
Meanwhile Men’s First Team Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo, headed to the iconic Boleyn Tavern, in East Ham, to surprise the Any Old Irons at their Christmas party.
The over-65s group, brought together by their unwavering love for West Ham United, enjoyed a day steeped in laughter, camaraderie and cherished memories. With the support of the West Ham United Foundation, the event highlighted the Club’s unique bond with its community, reminding everyone why being a Hammer is about more than just football.
More than 40 members of the group attended the event, which included a delicious Christmas lunch, games, music and a lively raffle, with the surprise visit of the Hammers Head Coach rounding off an incredible afternoon.
Speaking at his surprise visit at the Any Old Irons Christmas party, Men’s First Team Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo said:
“It’s an honour [to have met Any Old Irons], it’s important for me to meet the fans and understand them. So many of them that I met today spoke about our legend of the Club, Billy Bonds who means so much to the Club, they were lucky enough to see him play for us and told me a lot about him. It was honestly a pleasure to meet fans who have supported us for so many years, have had so many different experiences, it’s been fantastic.”
“I don’t think any of us were expecting Nuno to take time out of his busy schedule to come and visit us. It was an absolute delight to see him, what a lovely man he is and it’s made the day feel complete.” – Added John Gregory, a member of the Any Old Irons
The West Ham United Academy were also getting into the spirit of Christmas, as for the fourth year in succession, scholars from the U18s squad travelled to Gallions Reach in east London, delivering more than £800 worth of toys raised by themselves and the U21s for children in need across the borough this Christmas.
The donations were to support the Ambition Aspire Achieve (AAA) Kevin Jenkins OBE Newham Christmas Toy Appeal 2025, which aims to ensure all children, regardless of upbringing or background, can wake up on Christmas morning to new gifts, helping them share in an experience many take for granted.
AAA, an official charity partner of West Ham United, have been running the incredible Christmas Toy Appeal for 48 years. It is delivered entirely by volunteers, among them, West Ham United’s young Hammers. After delivering their donations, the scholars worked alongside other volunteers to fill stockings based on each referred child’s age, interests and educational needs.
“This is a great example of getting the boys outside the football bubble,” said Academy Head of Safeguarding Kate Spencer. “Being involved in an initiative like this aligns directly to our values.
“The connection with a local charity through volunteering and contributing to the community is really important. To return every year and raise such a large amount for the Toy Appeal means a great deal.”
All of the various activity and visits truly had community at its heart and was the latest part of the Club’s ‘United at Christmas’ campaign which has seen a wide range of activity take place across the Club and in the local community.
This includes visits to local hospitals and schools, as well as a special hampers donation, personally funded by West Ham United Chairman David Sullivan, for hard-working NHS staff at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
Additionally, there continues to be wide range of programmes delivered by the West Ham United Foundation, including the West Ham United Night Shelter, which has seen The Foundry, the Foundation’s transformational community hub, provide a hot meal and a safe place to sleep every Saturday night since early November. This will now extend to a nightly offering for a week during the Christmas period.
