West Ham have been put under more pressure to vacate the London Stadium for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
The problem is that the Championships are set to take place in September, shortly after the 2029/30 football season starts.
The Hammers could make way for the event by playing several consecutive away games over a three-week period.
However, they do not currently seem willing to cooperate with World Athletics despite pleas from several high-profile figures.
London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher has just become the latest person to publicly call out West Ham.
DISCUSS: The London Stadium could host the 2029 World Athletics Championships 🏅
West Ham would have to play away games for THREE WEEKS! ⚽
West Ham urged to show ‘heart and soul’ as London Stadium row continues
Brasher is a key member of the team behind London’s bid for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
London face competition from Rome, Munich, Nairobi and an Indian city for the event, with submissions required by August.
Therefore, time is running out for them to reach an agreement with West Ham over the use of the London Stadium.
Brasher’s latest effort involved asking West Ham to show more “heart and soul” by making a selfless decision.
“Football is an interesting, very tribal, sport,” he told The Guardian. “Money talks. But sometimes people look at their heart, they look at their soul, and that’s the purpose.”
“My father’s (Chris) final words in the article [about starting the London Marathon] in 1979 said: ‘London had the course, but did it have the heart and the soul to welcome the world?’
“I would ask West Ham, do they have the heart and the soul to open the stadium?”
Olympic champions Lord Sebastian Coe and Keely Hodgkinson have also urged West Ham to step aside recently.
It would clearly be a hugely popular decision, but the Hammers do have a contractual right to take priority over the stadium’s use.
Still, Brasher remains confident of persuading the East London club to reach an agreement before the summer deadline.
“I’m a really positive person,” he continued. “So I really, really hope and believe there is a way through. We have a government and mayor that is behind this bid.
“The general public is behind this bid, and we have athletes behind it, and we have a legacy that we believe we can deliver. And so therefore should we be able to find a way? Yes, we should.
“We’ve put together a great bid. It’s not our decision. That’s World Athletics’ decision. Yes, we have to get through West Ham. I believe we can.”
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