West Ham United’s dispute with their London Stadium landlords has escalated after the club claimed it is being asked to pay more than double the cost of a men’s fixture to host a Women’s Super League (WSL) match.
The Hammers head into the opening round of WSL fixtures this weekend without having played at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park since 2019.
West Ham Women were the only team in last season’s top flight not to stage a single match at their men’s club grounds, instead using Victoria Road, home of Dagenham & Redbridge. The club cites an agreement signed in 2016 prior to moving to London Stadium, allowing them a designated number of ‘competitive fixtures’ each season. The dispute centers on whether WSL matches fall within that allocation.
A West Ham spokesperson told Daily Mail Sport: “Hosting a Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at London Stadium in the 2025-26 season remains a key and absolute priority for the club. We have not sought any preferential treatment or subsidy… We are proposing to pay exactly the same fee to host a WSL fixture that we pay for a competitive men’s first-team match, even taking into account the fact that operational costs attached to a WSL fixture are significantly reduced. London Stadium has repeatedly failed to acknowledge a WSL game as one of West Ham United’s allocated competitive matches, nor accepted our offer of paying a fee equitable to a men’s fixture, and have instead suggested the club should pay more than double the fee paid to host a men’s first-team game.”
London Stadium officials maintain that the current agreement does not cover the women’s team, and separate arrangements are necessary. A spokesman said: “London Stadium has always been positive about welcoming women’s football to the venue. However, as with every other one of the capital’s football clubs, we cannot ask London’s taxpayers to subsidise the cost of West Ham putting on these matches… We remain open to continuing the conversation.”
Baroness Karren Brady, the club’s vice-chairman, has reportedly raised the issue with London Mayor Sadiq Khan. A West Ham statement emphasized hope for a resolution, citing the mayor’s public support for the growth of women’s football. A spokesperson for the Mayor’s office added that while discussions remain open, it is “unrealistic and unfair to expect the taxpayer to provide a competitive advantage to one of the capital’s football clubs by subsidising the staging of events at the Stadium.”
The stand-off, first reported in July, remains unresolved, with West Ham asserting that hosting a WSL fixture at London Stadium is a key priority, while the venue maintains its position on separate fees for women’s matches.
