Better known as “The Champions’, this celebration of West Ham’s contribution to England’s 1966 World Cup victory is one with a recent history of struggle. Fans won their fight to keep it on the site where it was unveiled in 2003, despite attempts to have it moved to Stratford’s London Stadium with the club in 2016.

With England striving for new glory in the European Championship; West Ham looking forward to a season in Europe; and as we celebrate the 55^th anniversary of England’s 4-2 win over West Germany, ‘The Champions’ is a fine reminder of how important football has been in the Borough.

Royal sculptor Philip Jackson’s bronze 16-feet high work features four giants of the 1966 team – Bobby Moore, Martin Peters, Geoff Hurst and Ray Wilson – and weighs four tonnes. It captures a photograph taken at Wembley on July 30^th as Bobby Moore lifted the trophy, surrounded by his West Ham team mates Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst, with England squad stalwart Ray Wilson.

Commissioned jointly by West Ham Football Club and Newham Council, the statue cost £725,000, with £400,000 coming from a government grant, and the bulk of the remainder from the football club.

West Ham played for 112 years at the now demolished Boleyn ground in Green Street. There were huge protests by local people, including MPs, when the club wanted to take the statue with them to Stratford.

Finally, the council decided it could stay put, a decision that left the club disappointed. West Ham United vice chair Baroness Karen Brady accused the council of going back on a previous promise to the club. She told the Newham Recorder at the time: “We have made promises to our supporters that the statue would sit outside our new home. Your decision to keep the statue at Barking Road will result in what will be perceived as a broken promise.”

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