Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters statue - West Ham United's European Champions - ready to be unveiled ahead of club's first home game in the Europa League
Saturday 18 September 2021 14:25, UK
West Ham will unveil a statue paying tribute to Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters at the London Stadium before their Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna on September 30.
Supporters attending the match, which will be West Ham's first home game in the tournament, will be among the first to see the statue which features three club legends and celebrates the club's 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup victory.
The club consulted with supporters about a new statue after the decision was made to keep the original Champions Statue at the junction of Barking Road and Green Street, adjacent to their former Boleyn Ground home.
Moore, Hurst and Peters all came through the famed West Ham Academy of Football and reached the very pinnacle of the sport, both with West Ham and England.
And that means the new statue will depict the club's famous 1965 success at Wembley Stadium when they beat 1860 Munich 2-0 in front of nearly 98,000 fans, showing Moore, Hurst and Peters lifting the trophy.
The statue will officially be known as "West Ham United's European Champions" after a vote among supporters and will feature the names of all players and manager Ron Greenwood on the plinth.
Sir Geoff Hurst said: "The timing of this, with the club qualifying for Europe, is fantastic.
"You couldn't possibly have picked a better time to do it, it's absolutely brilliant. It will be a fantastic day to see the statue at the club and I'm looking forward to bringing some members of my family along to celebrate."
Bobby Moore's daughter Roberta added: "It's obviously very fitting. I think that there couldn't be a better year for them going back into Europe.
"I'm really excited to see the statue, which we've all been working so hard on - none more so than the artists. I'm really looking forward to it and I think it's going to be very special."
