Keely Hodgkinson mocks West Ham over trophies in London Stadium row | OneFootball

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson has ignited a spat with West Ham United fans after poking fun at the club’s trophy haul amid a dispute over the London Stadium and London’s 2029 World Athletics bid.

Hounslow Herald reports that World Athletics president Sebastian Coe wants the championships staged in September, but the bid is in jeopardy because West Ham are refusing to vacate the stadium for a three-week window at the start of the football season.

Responding on X, the lifelong Manchester United fan said the GB team would bring back more medals to the venue than West Ham had seen in their entire history, adding heart and laughing emojis. Supporters in East London bristled, some likening it to a two-footed challenge while defending the club as a fine institution.

West Ham’s most recent major silverware came in 2023 with the Europa Conference League. Across 130 years they have won nine major trophies, including three FA Cups and the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup.

The London Stadium, built for the 2012 Olympics for athletics, was later converted for football. West Ham secured a 99-year tenancy in 2013 and moved in in 2016, and their contract gives them priority during the football season.

Coe has urged the club to be accommodating, highlighting the favourable deal they received when moving into the taxpayer-funded arena.

Hodgkinson’s intervention comes during a career peak, after Paris 2024 gold and Tokyo 2020 silver. She set a world indoor 800m record of 1:54.87 before winning the world indoor title in Poland last weekend.

London faces competition from Rome, Munich and Nairobi for 2029, and the row has sharpened debate over Olympic Park legacy versus Premier League priorities.

Source: Hounslow Herald