Frequently Asked Questions

What is the West Ham United Supporters' Trust?

WHUST is fan-run, regulated, membership body committed to representing Hammers fans home and away, even at international fixtures. We cover ticketing, stewarding, policing, catering, broadcasting changes, travel to matches and the club’s impact on, and involvement with, the local community.

We also take up individual cases where the fan and the club have been unable to resolve an issue successfully or as an advocate where a fan would rather have someone act on their behalf.

The trust works with everyone involved in running the London Stadium as well as local councils and police. We also work within the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) to meet with referees, broadcasters, politicians and others who influence football at West Ham. And we work with Football Supporters Europe (FSE) when we play UEFA competitions.

The West Ham United Supporters’ Trust is the trading name of the trust. Its registered name is Ironworks 1895 Supporters Society Limited. It is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. This sets us apart from social clubs, Facebook or other social media groups and protest organisers.

Why do clubs need trusts?

Every football club has a mishmash of fan groups, fanzines, forums, podcasts, blogs, commenters and social media influencers. West Ham has more than most. Having a trust simplifies who the club needs to talk to.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) worked with the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on an agreed set of rules and procedures to govern supporters’ trusts. The FSA has agreed to sponsor only one trust per football club.

The government has proposed that clubs must consult with the supporters’ trust at their club. Clearly there are many other groups speaking for niche groups of fans, such as Pride of Irons (LGBTQ), Inclusive Irons and the Disabled Supporters’ Board, and WHUST works closely with those. We also support the use of surveys and other formal feedback mechanisms to allow supporters direct responses.

Trusts also try to work within the local community, to widen participation and ensure supporting West Ham is as inclusive as possible.

How can I keep up to date with the trust's work?

By joining the trust, you will receive a regular emailed newsletter. You can also follow more frequent updates on our website where post news as and when we have it.

If you are interested in the details, you can also read the minutes of our main board and our various specialist committee meetings.

If you are on social media, we post most frequently on Twitter where we are @whust_whufc. We are also on Facebook and LinkedIn and will shortly be on Instagram and TikTok.

On home matchdays we run a telephone service for reporting any issues – call: 07596216787.

WHUST is open to anyone who believes in what we stand for and wants to help us improve the fan experience at West Ham.

Individual West Ham fans can join for just £5 a year. Of that, £1 is allocated to buying a share in the community benefit society Ironworks 1895 Supporters Society Limited (the trust). This is a legal requirement in order to be a shareholding member.

As a shareholding member you get to vote at general meetings, stand for office and elect board members. You can help set the direction of the trust and the focus of its work.

We also have affiliate membership. This is where a group becomes a shareholder in the trust, receives all trust news and updates, and is entitled to vote as a group. This category is for West Ham United official and unofficial supporters’ groups in the UK and overseas, supporters running websites, podcasts, and fanzines.

Individuals who belong to these groups are also entitled and encouraged to join as an individual member.

As an individual or affiliate member, you will need to renew your annual membership to retain your share in the trust.

Why is there a membership fee and how will the income generated be used for the trust?

The membership fee will go towards the cost of running the trust. The trust is ‘not for profit’ and board members are entirely voluntary and unpaid. Costs include webhosting and a Zoom account for online meetings, for example.

How is the Trust structured?

WHUST is a democratic body with each member having one vote. Members elect a board to run the trust. WHUST currently has 10 board members. Half the board is elected each year and board members sever two-year terms of office.

If WHUST grows, the board could be increased to 12 members with three-year terms and one third of board members (4) elected each year.

The board may also co-opt additional members with specific skills, experience or areas of expertise.

The trust holds an annual general meeting, at which board members are elected and the accounts approved, plus it holds regular general meetings for wider discussion. It publishes annual reports and accounts and must file its accounts and list of officers on a public register held by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

How does the ISC differ from WHUST?

West Ham’s Independent Supporters Committee (ISC) is the club’s current method of meeting fan groups. The ISC includes WHUST.

The Premier League has issued new fan engagement standards and the ISC does not meet these so will be altered or replaced soon.

When the Independent Regulator for English Football (IREF) is created and establishes a licensing system for football clubs, West Ham will have to improve its consultation with fans further or have its licence to play revoked.

WHUST is also involved in wider community initiatives and within the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) and Football Supporters Europe (FSE).

Why was the trust formed?

In June 2021 the trust’s forerunner, WHUISA, gave evidence to the Fan Led Review of Football Governance, particularly about the effects on fans of moving from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium, against the wishes of most fans.

It was clear that trusts would have a key role in the fan led review’s recommendations. Community benefit societies (football trusts) must work for the entire community, which includes all fans, but also people living locally.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) had developed model rules for supporters’ trusts and was keen to help a West Ham supporters’ group become a trust. The FSA sponsored us through the registration and regulation process.

Any of the West Ham supporters’ groups could have done this. There are good reasons why other groups needed to represent just their own group of fans and not the entire fanbase or local community. There was no competition between rival groups. WHUISA was the only group to opt to go down the route of becoming regulated.

We believed it would help us attract highly experienced and committed fans who would offer their professional expertise to a regulated trust. This has proved to be the case.

WHUISA voted on 11 August 2021 to convert to a community benefit society (supporters’ trust). WHUST was registered under the name Ironworks 1895 Supporters Society with the Financial Conduct Authority as a community benefit society number 8741 on 8 October 2021.

What is the fan-led review of football?

The Fan Led Review of Football Governance was a cross-party political project caried out in 2021 to examine problems within English football and propose solutions. It was led by former Conservative sports minister Tracey Crouch MP.

The fan-led review recommended that the supporters’ trust at each club have a specific role and this has been echoed in the White paper A sustainable future - reforming club football governance. This says that when the Independent Regulator for English Football (IREF) is established and licenses West Ham, the club will have to consult with its supporters’ trust, WHUST.

At the publication of the Fan Led Review (24 November 2021), it reported that 73 of 92 League clubs already had a community benefit society in the form of a supporters trust.

Background: The terms of reference of the Fan Led Review were published in June 2021. There as an interim report in July 2021, with the final report published on 24 November 2021. There was a one-year-on report published in November 2022.

What is the golden share?

The golden share was a proposal within the fan led review (FLR) to enable the trust at each club to veto (stop) clubs changing key items of the club’s heritage, such as the team name, colours, badge and grounds.

But it was never going to be that simple. The FLR suggested that the holder trust would need to canvas the opinion of its members, season ticket holders and all fans who had attended one game that season. The trust would also have just 45 days in which to do this. There would then need to be a ‘mechanism for independent dispute resolution’ if the club felt the golden share had been exercised ‘unreasonably in a manner that prejudices the development of the club’.

The government rejected the idea of a golden share at every club when it published its White paper, claiming it would “place a significant burden on clubs and could deter investment and development with regards to stadiums”. However, where clubs do not provide the trust with a golden share, the regulator will establish other protections that can used in a similar manner.

How does the trust have thorough engagement with the club?

WHUST has both formal and informal channels of communication.

Its formal involvement with club is through the Independent Supporters’ Committee. WHUST also sits on several official bodies connected with the club, such as police committees. And the trust works with the stadium managers and owners and with fan groups of rival clubs.

Informally, trust board members have direct communication with senior club officials and are able to help solve individual supporters’ problems.